Stretch marks, Scans and Sponge cake
by spindletwig
Summary: Kurt and Blaine are going to be awesome parents. How do I know? I'm the one carrying their kid. Follow our story from start to finish; you may like it... OC first person perspective 1st in series
1. Giving birth and Giving blood

**Hello there! I'm spindletwig, for reasons even I don't know, and this is my first ever fanfiction. I'm not exactly new to this, I've read TONS, but I never thought I was any good at writing. However, a few weeks ago I began having a series of episodic dreams about being Chris Colfer and Darren Criss' surrogate mother. They're pretty awesome dreams, and I couldn't resist doing this. I converted it to Klaine, because I just couldn't write CrissColfer, and changed the protagonist, and voila. Enjoy! (Or not..)**

**EDIT: This is a shameless plea for reviews. I've had plenty of visitors to this story, and a couple of wonderful people have added it to their alerts (thank you!), but no reviews. I honestly don't know if what I'm doing is okay! I will keep writing this story because I've been finding it wonderfully relaxing, and even just knowing a few people want me to carry it on is enough, but please, however hypocritical I'm being because I know it's rare that I leave a review when I read a story, leave me some feedback if you can. Thanks :)**

**Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.**

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><p>Seriously? Now? You couldn't have picked a better time? Of course you couldn't, you're a foetus, you have no concept of time. But honestly, you're causing a scene. I'm in a supermarket. Then again, considering who your dads are, I'm not surprised that this had to happen in a dramatic way. Right Kim, put down the lettuce. You'll just have to do this another time. You have a more pressing matter on yo..OH MY LORD! Okay… Breathe. Just breathe.<p>

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><p>I should probably start from the very beginning (a very good place to start, after all). Because, to be quite honest, if you'd told me a year ago that this would be my life, well, I would never in a million years have believed you. I was quite happy a year ago, toddling along, living a rather monotonous but pretty successful life, working towards my PhD and partying with my friends and generally just doing the things you should do when you're 24 and living in London…<p>

Alright, that's a downright lie. I've never been exactly normal. My friends call me weird, and they're my friends, but I like being different. I like not liking clubbing, and preferring going out for a meal and then watching chick flicks and musicals til the early hours. I like the fact that I work strange hours at a tiny bookstore and spend most of my time on the job reading the books. I like that I like studying cells, but hate setting up the microscope to do it. Those stupid little things make me, well, me I guess. And those stupid little things made me happier than I'd ever been. And then just over a year ago, out of bloody nowhere, my entire life full of stupid little things changed. All because of two men I've admired (and admittedly fancied) for quite a number of years. All because I just could not let these two men give up on their dream.

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><p>I've always been a giver. Whenever I saw adverts on television about giving blood, they'd make me feel incredibly guilty, even if I'd given blood a week before. I'd just want to stand up and scream<p>

'I want to! I promise you, I do! I'd give you it all if I could, but then I'd die and I wouldn't be able to give anymore! Just give me a few months and I'll be back, I swear!'

I always gave my family and friends carefully thought out and beautiful gifts, because I loved to see the looks on their faces, and knowing that I made them that happy made me happy too. I loved to cook and care for people, and know that I made their lives just that tiny bit better by doing what I'd done. In fact, I was on my way to a friend's house to drop off a cake I'd made for a bake sale when said life-changing event occurred..

I was walking across the park, carrying a victoria sponge cake. How strange a start to such a story. But, then again, that's not half as strange as what happens soon, let me tell you. But first things first.

It was a small park, just a little field-y bit (I'm not good with agricultural technicalities) and then a children's playground area, with swings and slides and all those things you play on when you're a kid and pretend you don't still play on now you're an adult. I recognised quite a few of the people around, as you do when you've lived somewhere for two years and quite like getting to know your neighbours like me. I've babysat most of the children I saw in the park that day, and I've drank wine and watched Moulin Rouge with most of their mothers, and some of their fathers. But there were two people I didn't recognise. No, there were more than two, of course, and these two didn't really stand out in particular to the rest of the people in the park, but they did to me, even from a distance. I couldn't see their faces, I couldn't tell you who on earth they were, but they looked sad. The shorter of the two had his head leaning on the other's shoulder, and the other man's head was on top of his. Their hands were grasped tight, as if the other person were the only thing holding them down from floating away, and they looked weary. Not weary as in jetlagged or sleepy, but as if every single trouble they'd ever experienced had resurfaced, and they just wanted it to stop. I knew beyond a doubt that I was intruding on an extremely personal moment, but I couldn't stop myself. I just couldn't. My damn caring, giving nature overruled every rational instinct in my body telling me to turn away and leave these men to their peace, but instead I transferred the victoria sponge to my other hand, held onto my bag strap and marched on over.

I don't know how I thought I could help. Maybe some stupid part of my brain thought giving them a cake would cheer them up. Well, I suppose it does always work for me. But even as I was internally warring with myself, I didn't stop walking, and before I knew it I was in front of them with a damn cake in my hand and a sympathetic smile on my face. And then, the shorter man looked up. And I promptly fainted.


	2. Mud and Memories

**Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.**

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><p>I have no doubt that you'll believe me when I say that my first thought upon re-entering the land of the living was 'Is the victoria sponge okay?'. Yep, I have my priorities completely straight. I'd just looked Blaine bleeding Anderson in the eyes, fainted and the number one thing on my list was asking about a cake. It made him smile though, and my oh my does that man have a beautiful smile.<p>

'The cake is fine. Kurt caught it, don't worry. Are you alright?'

Kurt caught it. Of course Kurt caught it. If I hadn't already been on the floor, I would've fallen over again when Kurt Hummel offered me his hand to help me up. Knowing my sense of stability, I probably could've fallen over whilst on the floor if I'd tried. But instead, I gathered what little dignity I still had, considering it was late autumn, the grass was muddy and therefore so was my arse, accepted the proffered hand and got to my feet, all whilst blushing like a milkmaid and smiling like a loon. Who said I couldn't multi-task?

'I'm completely fine. Completely. Wow, you're Blaine Anderson. And you're Kurt Hummel. And I have a muddy bum. Oh god…'

If the earth could've swallowed me whole at that moment, I would've been happy. I mean, honestly, I'm a grown woman. How could I embarrass myself that much in the space of eight seconds? They just looked at each other, with amused smiles on their faces, and reached for each others hands again.

In that split second, I was transported back to five years before. I remembered being nineteen and discovering Blaine Anderson, the rising twenty one year old music sensation. I fell in love with his songs and his eyes. I remembered being twenty, when Blaine brought his boyfriend, upcoming actor Kurt Hummel, to a public event for the first time. Blaine had always been very secretive about his private life, but it was well known that he'd been with his boyfriend since they were sixteen, and the media latched onto the couple immediately. Kurt's career skyrocketed, completely of its own accord of course, the man is a genius, and tumblr's most popular tag was born; Klaine. People had never shipped a real life couple so hard, and I was a Klainer through and through. I remembered two years later, the wedding that made fangirls (and fanboys) everywhere weep with happiness and for the loss of hopeless chances with either of the pair. A year later, it was common tumblr knowledge that the pair were looking to start a family. Any fan worth their salt had seen the pictures of the two leaving adoption agencies and surrogacy clinics. And now I had found them, sitting on a bench in a nondescript London park, looking like they had the weight of the world on their shoulders, and I couldn't help but know what'd happened.

'This is probably not what you need right now, some crazy English girl fainting and flailing when obviously something is very wrong, but I just need to tell you that I have always admired you guys, ever since the beginning, and it's been lovely meeting you… If you can call this a meeting, that is…'

I finished speaking rather lamely, as if I'd run out of steam. To be fair, it did feel like I'd just run a marathon in a desert, so I made my way to the bench and let myself drop down, fanning myself with an old edition of New Scientist I had in my bag and looking up at the men before me once more. The smiles they'd had at my lunacy had disappeared and their faces were made of sadness again. I contemplated doing something stupid just to see them grin, because looking at them looking like that was torture. Kurt was fiddling with his wedding band, and Blaine looked like he was thinking way too hard about something…

'You were right about something being wrong, but you kinda just made our day, so thanks'

To say I was a little bewildered would've been about right, but I replied anyway

'Well, my clumsiness is here to make the world a cheerier place. I think. So you're welcome'

Kurt smiled then, and in the way that only couples who are well and truly head-over-heels in love can do, they had a conversation with their eyes. I tried to subtly interpret, but I've never been good at languages, so I failed, but it turns out I didn't really have to.

'Would you like to go get a coffee? Blaine and I are new to London, and we'd love to meet some new people here'

I thought for a nanosecond how you could say 'YES PLEASE I'VE LOVED YOU TWO SINCE I WAS A TEENAGER THIS WOULD BE AN ABSOLUTE DREAM OF MINE PLEASE CAN I TAKE HOME YOUR NAPKIN SO I CAN HAVE YOUR DNA?' in a manner befitting a normal young woman, and settled on

'Sure. We can share the cake too'

Yep. We full-circled back to the cake. Typical.


	3. Jealousy and Julie Andrews

**Finally got to the bit I actually wanted to write haha**

**Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.**

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><p>Kurt and Blaine had sort of faded off the radar in the year or so before I'd met them, so they didn't get any crazed fans or paparazzi trailing them as we walked to the small coffee shop on the other side of the park. The media stop caring once you stop being 'interesting', and seeing as neither of them had released any new work, or done anything stupid like participating in a dwarf throwing contest in a Greek pub, nobody batted an eyelid as they walked on by.<p>

They were completely silent as we walked. They hadn't let go of each others hands still, and I had the feeling that they wouldn't unless they absolutely had to. It seemed as if they were searching for reassurance from the other person that they were still there, and having an inkling about what was making them so miserable, I couldn't blame them at all.

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><p>Reaching the glass doors of the café, I did the polite thing and opened it to let them through. They still didn't say much, and it wasn't until we ordered and moved to a secluded table in the corner that they even looked at me properly again.<p>

'Sorry we're being so quiet, when we're the ones who asked you here. It's just.. we could really use some friends right now, but maybe today isn't the best time. You were obviously in a rush to get somewhere..'

Kurt trailed off, and dropped his gaze to the table, where the coffees (and my hot chocolate, I can't stand coffee for the life of me), the cake and their joined hands were sitting.

'It's fine. I wasn't heading anywhere important, I promise, and you two could use some cheering up. I could faint again if you'd like, that seemed to amuse you before. Or, we could attempt a normal grown up conversation, but I'm not too good at those'

A-ha! Smiles! I have a gift, honestly. Blaine ran his free hand through his mop of curls in a sort of exasperated way, and Kurt just looked grateful that I wasn't prying, to be honest. Now, I know that I was a huge fan of these guys (still am, of course, but things kind of change after having an experience like mine), but they're as human as the rest of us, and I knew that charging head first into snooping into their private lives was not a wise idea. They didn't need a crazed fan, they needed a friend. They needed someone they could have a laugh with, and eat takeaway pizza with, and just generally be silly with. And I was just the girl for the job. So after a good twenty minutes of obligatory introductory conversation, which I won't dictate completely because everyone has had this sort of conversation and knows exactly how it goes, I said the words that started a beautiful friendship.

'I have a bottle of white and a copy of the Sound of Music with our names of them back at my flat. Care to join?'

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><p>It was early evening when the taxi pulled up outside my door. Kurt and Blaine looked nervous, but I can appreciate that it would be nervewracking to go to a virtual strangers house who has already admitted that she's a fan for a night of promised alcohol and musicals. Thank god my flatmate Evie wasn't there. She was even more of a stalkery fan than I was, and that just would not have gone down well.<p>

Most of the latter part of that evening is quite a blur in my memory (turns out I had more than the one bottle of wine in the cupboard), but the first couple of hours are there. I unlocked the door, and hoped to god that Evie had cleaned up like I had asked, before ushering the men in before me. They glanced around the tidy hallway (yes!) and I took their coats (making a mental note to ask Kurt where on earth he got his dark green peacoat from, because I wanted it, despite knowing it'd probably be way out of my price range), before they were assaulted by the small dog that could smell cake and new people on me and just had to have a look. Kurt jumped back in surprise, and Blaine chuckled as my little spitfire sat his bum on the carpet and looked up at them in intrigue.

'Sorry, that's Ernie. He's a bit weird…'

As if on cue, the black pug sneezed, pawed at the rug and then trotted off. Yup. Weird.

'It's fine, we love dogs. We always wanted a puppy, but we move around quite a bit so it wouldn't be practical. But now we're staying in London for the foreseeable future, maybe it's an option'

I took my first proper look at them as they went into the living room and sat together on the sofa. I hadn't had a chance at the park or the café, not when they were either facing me or in the distance, but now I had the perfect opportunity. Kurt looked perfectly turned out, and it didn't surprise me in the least. He had always looked flawless in press interviews and the like, and that day was no different. He was wearing simple but stylish clothes that suited him to the core, and his hair was coiffed up into his signature style. Blaine looked a tad more scruffy, but that suited him. His curly hair was short enough not to be a mess, but long enough to twist round his ears, and he wore an outfit that wouldn't have looked out of place on any of my impoverished student friends.

I caught myself staring, luckily, just before Kurt turned around and saw me walking into the room with the DVD. He smiled and watched me put the film in, before scooting closer to Blaine on the sofa and resting his head on his husband's shoulder. I managed to suppress my natural urge to 'Awww' at the sight, and instead forced myself to keep my mouth shut and drink my wine, contradicting ideas they may be..

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><p>'You're awesh.. aweso... you're so cool, Kurt. You're so pretty with your pretty coat and your pretty face and your pretty husband. You're sooooooo lucky'<p>

Don't say a word. I'd kind of expected to get drunk that evening. I had not expected to turn into some babbling idiot. I had also not expected the conversation we had next.

'I'm not lucky Kim. We're not lucky. We're never lucky'

Kurt had tears in his eyes, and was wildly gesturing with his arms as though they weren't really connected to his brain.

'All we want is a baby. Just a little one. We don't mind which. Just one baby. Nobody wants us to have one. They say we wouldn't be good at having one. Because we're hum..homa… because we're gay. We're too gay to have a baby'

Blaine was silent, but I could tell that his husbands words were getting to him. He had subconsciously curled in on himself, and the whole world weary look had returned with a vengeance.

'Why can't I have a uterus Kim? Hmm? You have a uterus. You're the lucky one Kim'

'Aha! I've got it!' Haha, yes, I'm a genius. You can guess where this is going, can't you?

'What?'

'You can borrow mine! Like, a surrogate, or a carrier pigeon or something! I'll have your baby! You'll be great parents. You're not too gay to be a dad. You and Blaine will be amazing dads. I'll do it. I promise you I'll do it.'

Blaine's head whipped up with such a force I'm surprised his neck didn't break. With a voice hoarse from crying, he spoke

'Really? You'd really do that for us?'

'Yes! Of course I would. I don't want a baby, so my uterus isn't being used at the moment, so you can use it for 9 months.'

Kurt started sobbing uncontrollably, and launched himself into my arms

'THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!'

And that's how the most important decision I've ever made in my life happened. Drunk as a sailor on leave and with Julie Andrews singing about the bloody Nazi's in the background.


	4. Hugs and Hangovers

**Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.**

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><p>Thank the lord it was a Sunday the next day, and I had neither work nor uni to contend with, because I distinctly remember that I had the worst hangover I've ever had that day. I woke up in a daze on my living room floor, holding a vase that Evie's mum had brought 'to liven up this pigsty', and Ernie sleeping quite peacefully on my belly. Strange to some, but a common occurrence when I get drunk. The really strange things were my houseguests. Luckily, I hadn't forgotten that Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson had come over, or that would've been a really awkward situation, but it was still really weird to see the celebrity pair wrapped up in each others arms on my sofa.<p>

I stumbled to my feet, clutching my head, and staggered to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea and some coffee for the people residing in my sitting room. Whilst the kettle was boiling, I wracked my brain for evidence of the night before, because I had a strong suspicion that I had either said something really really stupid or really really smart. I was just reliving arriving at the house in my memories when a dishevelled but no less good looking (damn him) Kurt came through the doorway.

'Did you really mean what you said last night?'

His eyes were shining with hopeful tears, and I felt _terrible_ that I couldn't remember what he was referring to. I replied hesitantly.

'Um…'

His expression changed instantly, with the tears evaporating and a visible wall being built around his emotions.

'Never mind. Is that coffee?'

He took a mug from the countertop and left the room without saying another word. Meanwhile, I was desperately searching for any clue whatsoever as to what I could've said when Ernie came bounding into the room.

'Hey baby boy. Mummy is sorry for being so loud and…'

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I abandoned the tea making and rushed back into the lounge, where Kurt was sobbing silently in Blaine's arms.

'I remember what I said. I meant every word. But I don't think you really want me to do this'

Blaine looked at me with his sad eyes

'You don't need to let us down gently or anything Kim, don't worry. We'll just get going now. Thanks for last night, it was really fun'

I ran to block the doorway, and however dramatic and unnecessary an action it was, it worked and they looked up at me with expectant faces

'I'll still do it. _Of course_ I'll still do it. But I'm not…' I gestured down to my slightly overweight body and up to my eyes, which were framed with glasses 'Biologically perfect, per se. I'll carry the baby though, you just will probably want to get a donor egg. A better one'

I know, I'm pathetic. But that is genuinely how I felt about myself back then, and how I still feel about myself now sometimes.

Blaine and Kurt had frozen in identical expressions of shock, before Kurt leapt to his feet and threw his arms around me once more.

'No Kim. No. You are the only person who has offered to do this amazing, selfless, wonderful thing for us. None of our friends are in the right position to offer, and none of the clinics could provide anyone. We lost hope, Kim. For offering to do this for us, for being so giving, you are absolutely perfect. We couldn't care less how you look, but for the record you really shouldn't feel so lowly of yourself. You're really rather lovely. And besides, the baby is going to get dodgy hair and bad eyesight from Blaine anyway…'

Kurt's smile could have lit the entire city of London, and Blaine didn't seem to care about the slight jab at his looks, because he wrapped his arms around both me and Kurt and laughed like the happiest man in the world. The laugh faded though, and he stepped back with a serious look on his face.

'I'm sorry, I just really need to be sure Kim. Me and Kurt have been through this sort of thing before. This pregnancy will affect your life so much, are you completely certain you can do this?'

I untangled myself from Kurt's shockingly strong embrace, and faced Blaine directly. I needed to make sure he believed every word that came out of my mouth, and I've always been told eye contact is vital when communicating a point, so I wanted as much of it as possible.

'Blaine, Kurt, listen to what I'm about to say very carefully. I am sure about this. I am 24 years old. I have about 6 months left of my PhD to go, so that won't be affected and I'll still become Dr Kimberley Miller, just like I always wanted. Sure, I'll have to get a proper doctorate level job eventually, but they're as rare as stardust in this job market, so there's no harm in waiting a few more months, and I'll just take on more hours at the book shop in the meantime. It's not a stressful job, I'll be perfectly fine doing it whilst pregnant. I'm not in a serious relationship, and I don't particularly want one in the foreseeable future, so that's all good. My friends and family are wonderful, understanding people, and will support me in this one hundred percent. I live with Evie, and she'll be more than happy to look after me and my crazy pregnant cravings, and take Ernie for walks when I get so big I start doing that weird pregnant lady waddle. Though she's like, a crazy fan of yours, so you'll have to be careful…

Anyway, what I'm saying is, if you want me, I would like to be the biological mother of your child, and carry it for nine months, and then give it to you, to be raised by two amazing men who deserve to have a baby more than anything. What do you say?'

I finished my little speech out of breath (and made a note to myself to start exercising properly again after the baby is born) and looked at them expectantly.

They looked at each other, then back at me, in perfect unison, before huge grins erupted on their faces and they screamed 'YES!' at the top of their voices.

Then we shared a beautiful, cheesy, cliché celebratory jump hug. Nope, I'm not kidding. We really did. And it was _marvellous_.


	5. Maths and Mercury

**Icky, but kind of necesssary...**

**Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.**

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><p>Menstrual cycles are tricky little buggers sometimes. Don't worry, I'm not going to go into full on gross detail about this, but seriously, when you're trying to get pregnant through any method, natural or… syringe induced, you need to be mathematically competent and constantly prepared. So, being mathematically <em>in<em>competent and constantly busy due to the research for my thesis, I was taking ovulation tests like crazy. The doctor said I shouldn't, but whatever. The doctor also told me caffeine was off limit during the pregnancy. I had a little cry over that one. I can live without my alcohol, but not my caffeine.

Anyways, I'd mastered the art of peeing on a stick pretty early on in this whole experience (go me!) so this seemed the easiest way. About 3 weeks after the whole drunken crying jump hugging episode, I got the go ahead from one of these little sticks, and it was time to commence the baby making. In a completely scientific and not fun way.

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><p>Medical clinics are not places I feel comfortable in. Especially not ones with graphic diagrams of the female reproductive system on the wall. I mean, seriously, what's wrong with a cute picture of a baby? Still relevant! I may be a scientist, but I do cells, not whole bodies. This was not my element. It seemed to be Kurt's element though. He was sat there with a smug little smile on his face, cooing at every baby that came into the room and chatting with every person who sat in a two chair radius. Blaine, however, looked even worse than me. I don't see why, all he had to do was go into a comfy room and, erm, deposit some of his swimmers into a cup. Not hard. Well, not for too long… (Sorry!) I had to, well… you can guess, surely? I'm <em>not<em> going into details in this thing. Anyway, Blaine looked like he was about to throw up or cry. I tried to comfort him, but to be honest, I had no sympathy. Why should I? Kurt finally noticed his husband's discomfort, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, but it was a little too late.

'Blaine Anderson?'

The nurse was kindly and had a gentle smile, but Blaine was looking at her like she was the headless horse(wo)man of the apocalypse. He turned to Kurt, his features twisted into a look of panic, and started hurriedly whispering. I, obviously, eavesdropped.

'I can't do this Kurt. What if they're not good enough? What if I don't do it right? You should do it.'

Kurt was quite clearly trying to suppress laughter, but comforted his husband anyway.

'Baby, they already tested your little guys, and they're perfectly fine. And I'm pretty damn sure you can't mess this up, love. And we discussed this ages ago, you're the biological father, and if we decide we want another baby sometime in the future, I will be, and you'll be the one giggling at me for saying such silly things, okay?'

Blaine, somewhat mollified (and offended) by these words, stood and followed headless horsewoman nurse down the corridor and out of our sight.

Kurt chuckled as his gaze strayed from where his husband had just disappeared to and onto my face.

'I don't know why he's nervous. His part isn't difficult. I feel sorry for you, Kim. Thank you for doing this'

These men said thank you to me possibly over two hundred times between the day I agreed to the surrogacy, and the, for want of a less technical and more fluffy, lovely term, insemination (yuck…). It was sweet and sincere, but it's more than a little frustrating to say 'You're welcome' over and over when they knew that was what I was going to say every single time. Or maybe they really thought I'd just change my mind one day. Either way, I just carried on talking normally.

'I plan on just ignoring whatever they do to me and listening to the immenseness of Freddie Mercury on my iPod until it's all over'

Kurt took my hand, and went back to the copy of Good Housekeeping from two years ago that he found on the magazine table. Honestly, this is a private clinic, update your media people!

'Kimberley Miller'

I extracted my hand, grabbed my (beautiful, well made, quite obviously a gift and not bought on my pathetic postgrad student budget) bag from the floor, and started to walk towards the nurse (not headless horsewoman, a new one), before I felt a soft hand grab my wrist. I span around and began to ask what was wrong before Kurt enveloped me in a tight, warm hug. We hadn't hugged since that fateful, hungover morning, our friendship just hadn't progressed that far, but Kurt obviously felt that it had then, and held me for a long moment before letting me go with tears falling down his rosy cheeks.

'Good luck, and thank you, Kim. I'll never stop thanking you.'

I nodded my thanks back, because truthfully I was a little choked up to be able to speak at that moment, and followed new nurse to my fate. Or Treatment Room 4, whatever.


	6. Starbucks and Stalking

**Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.**

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><p>Treat it like you would with any pregnancy now, the doctor said. This was after he became very well acquainted with me and before he ordered me to stay away from caffeine, <em>again<em>. I think he could tell I was a bit of an addict from the crying incident. So, having witnessed a fair few pregnancy scares in my time, I knew what to do. Apart from weep hysterically that my life could be over and eat a whole tub of Ben and Jerry's whilst researching cheap but stylish baby clothes manufacturers. I had to wait to be late. There was no other way, he said, just let nature take its course. What will be will be. Que sera sera. All that nonsense. He said that I was the perfect age, nice and young, and that the chances of success were higher than normal. But still not that high. Somewhere in the 30-40% range. I just had to hope. And yes, Dr Farmer, _stay away from caffeine_.

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><p>I carried on as normal. I had about two and a half weeks to wait, and for most of that time, I just went about my day to day activities as usual. Except for the fact that Kurt and Blaine seemed to be <em>everywhere<em> I went. They got the whole concerned parents thing down fast, I'll tell you that. I'd come out of the labs at 7pm, and they'd phone me, being all,

'_Hey Kim, we just happened to be at this nice little restaurant down the road from your university. Why don't you come and join us? Would be silly for you to cook when we could share a nice, healthy meal. And then we'll drop you off at home, you shouldn't have to walk all that way when we could easily drive you. And we'll walk Ernie for you tomorrow, have a nice day off, take the weight off your feet…'._

Because, apparently, the foetus could've just fallen out whilst I was walking my dog. I'm being sarcastic, I know. I liked their concern. It was comforting. But smothering.

It got a bit much after a while. I had to be grateful Evie still hadn't cottoned onto what was going on. They phoned the flat once looking for me _'because you weren't answering your cell and we just need to make sure you're alright'_, and Evie picked up. Thankfully, Kurt thinks fast, and Evie told me when I got out of the bath that she'd had a lovely conversation with a window salesman named Karl about when the best time to plant gardenias is. Never mind we don't have a garden to put gardenias in, but I really didn't fancy fielding the wrath of a celebrity crazed Evie just yet.

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><p>It came to a head about four days before I would start to become hopeful. I was sitting in Starbucks, all pretentious with my laptop, writing up my thesis abstract with my cup of very decaf tea, when I saw a chestnut head emerge from around a corner. Said chestnut head seemed to sense my sensing of it, and immediately retracted, only to be joined a few seconds later by a curly black one. At this point, even with my mind fuzzy with withdrawal, I knew beyond a doubt who it was. I closed my laptop and exited the shop, creeping up behind the men who seemed to be panicking about something, no doubt my disappearance from view.<p>

'Looking for someone, gentlemen?'

At least they had the sense to look slightly abashed. Kurt went to say something, probably try and explain their presence outside the coffee shop five minutes from my flat and half an hour from theirs, but I raised my hand to silence them both.

'I know you're excited and concerned. This is your potential child after all. I don't blame you for being protective. But right now, this baby is in my capable hands. Until we know if it's really there or not, I can't really do any damage. Cooking myself dinner and taking Ernie on walks isn't going to make a jot of difference. If I was binge drinking every night and smoking then you have my complete permission to wrestle said items from my hands, bind me to a chair for 9 months and feed me on alfalfa and folic acid tablets. If you want to know what's going on, phone me or text me, _on my mobile_, and I will gladly fill you in. Please, please stop following me though. My professor has started noticing you hanging around outside the uni. He's not big into celebrities, so you're safe from him, but I thought we wanted to keep this from the public until the first trimester is over, and keep me from the public completely if possible. It's not going to happen if you're found following me.'

Blaine looked like he hadn't even thought about that. I'd told the guys over a week before that I'd never had any desire to be famous, and if it was at all possible then I wanted my identity to be hidden from the media and general public. I was obviously going to tell close family and friends, but I did not want to be recognised in the streets. They'd completely respected and agreed with my decision, but I supposed that the initial madness of this whole situation made their brains as fuzzy as mine was without caffeine.

'We're so sorry Kim. You're right, we're just excited and nervous. We just can't stand the wait anymore. We've been waiting for so long…'

I sighed at their identical puppy dog expressions. These men were three years older than me, for heavens sake, but I couldn't help but get sucked in anyway.

'It's fine, its your baby. Just a few more days okay? I'm going to go home. If I'm late in a couple of days, then I'll call, and I'll come over to yours and you can be there when I do the test. Not in the room, obviously, but you know what I mean. Okay?'

Kurt nodded furiously, and tugged on Blaine's hand to walk away, throwing a _'See you soon!'_ back in my direction. And I did.

* * *

><p>Four days later, as predicted, I was hopeful. So I dialled Kurt and Blaine's number, grabbed the Clear Blue packet from my bedside cabinet, and set off to their flat.<p>

I'd never been there before, but I knew the location. It was in a much nicer part of the city than mine, obviously, and the outside made me feel like I was in 'Mary Poppins'. They buzzed me in, after I made my way through the doorman and iron gates, that is, and I made my way to their place on the third floor.

Kurt threw open the door with a flourish and a beaming smile. He was bouncing excitedly and pulled me in as soon as he saw me standing there.

'How do you feel? Do you feel pregnant?'

Blaine came in from the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist from behind.

'Let her speak babe' He turned and addressed me, 'Look, we all just want to know. I don't mean to be rude but we're really excited'

His matching smile assured me that he wasn't being rude at all, and before I could even ask, he pointed towards a door

'Bathroom's over there'

Thanks to my extensive knowledge of peeing on sticks, this wasn't a hard task to complete. I left the room with pee stick in hand, and put it on the coffee table in front of where Kurt and Blaine were sitting on the couch, results side down.

'Three minutes'

I sat on Kurt's other side, and he gripped my hand like a vice. Blaine stretched his arm behind Kurt to put his hand on my shoulder, and we waited. For one hundred and eighty seconds, the only sounds in the room were our breathing and the distant whir of the washing machine in the utility room. And then…

'Time's up'

Blaine nodded to me to do the honours. I guess he didn't want to risk touching my pee to be fair. I leant forward and grasped the test, closed my eyes and flipped it over without looking.

If the squeals and overjoyed sobbing of the men beside me weren't enough, the little pink plus sign certainly was. I stared at the result for a few seconds before bursting into happy tears myself, and we all moulded into one weeping unit, clutching at hands and backs and wanting to make this glorious moment last as long as possible.

After a while, when our tears had dried and the shaking had stopped and we'd double checked the result (thank god I'd bought multiple tests with me), Kurt retrieved a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne from their fridge and poured us all a glass.

'I would like to make a toast to Kim, for being an amazingly selfless person and doing this for us, to the beginning of a long and wonderful journey, and most importantly, to baby Hummel-Anderson'

'To baby Hummel-Anderson!'


	7. Sickness and Suspicions

**And we meet Evie for the first time. She'll probably end up being an amalgamation of every friend I have. So, a little insane...**

**Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.**

* * *

><p>At six weeks, the lovely happy glow of finding out about the baby had faded somewhat, and I had fallen headfirst into the world of morning sickness. Let me tell you, men and women who have never been pregnant, it's not a pleasant experience. I would awake when my alarm went off at seven am every morning, only to have to leg it to the bathroom, negotiating many obstacles such as lamps and pugs, to immediately reacquaint myself with whatever little food I had managed to force down my throat the night before. I felt like absolute crap by the time I got to uni, and on days when I had to drag myself to work after a day on my feet in the laboratories, well, I'd be contemplating calling in sick before I'd even got out of bed that morning.<p>

Evie wasn't stupid, either. She noticed something was wrong. She'd seen my dawn time dashes to the porcelain throne, and being the wonderful friend she is, was obviously concerned for my health and wellbeing. Over breakfast one morning, which consisted of corn flakes and coffee for her, and a small cup of black decaffeinated tea for me, she finally piped up.

'Are you feeling alright lately Kim? I'm not going to sit by and pretend that I haven't noticed the change in appetite, the throwing up, the ghostly pallor. Plus you've given up caffeine. That's just not.. _you_, Kim. I don't see why you'd do that. Unless, well, unless there's something you're not telling me?'

I felt _awful_ for lying to her, I really did, but telling Evie that I was carrying the child of her favourite celebrity couple and dealing with the consequences was not something I wanted to worry about when I felt like death warmed up.

'I'm fine, Evie, I promise. Just a bit of nausea, I'll call the doctors today and make an appointment. Anyway, I'm giving up caffeine because I read an article in the BMJ about it causing high blood pressure and cardiac problems, and I don't want to have a heart attack at the grand old age of 25.'

This seemed to placate her, and I thanked whoever is up there that I have enough subscriptions to scientific and medical journals for her to completely believe me. Besides, I had seen that article in the BMJ. Never mind that it was four years previous to this conversation and I had simply scoffed and turned the page. Evie finished her coffee and stood.

'I'm going to work. If you need me to come fetch you from the doctors, give me a call, but I'm in a meeting with the partners til three pm'

It still makes me laugh that Evie is this crazy, stalkery fangirl at home with me, someone who squeals over gossip magazines and loves watching trashy reality TV, when at work she's a well-respected intern at one of the top solicitors in the city. I wonder what her fellow lawyers would think if they saw her on a Sunday morning, balancing a bowl of nesquik on her boobs and watching Looney Tunes in her pyjamas.

'I'll be fine Evie, get going. Can't keep all those hoity-toity Oxbridge grads waiting can we now?'

She punched me in the arm, as she always does whenever I make a quip about the… eliteness of the people she works with, and departed with a wave and a smile.

As soon as I heard the front door click closed, I grabbed my phone and dialled possibly the most important number I had.

'Hi, can I make an appointment with Dr Farmer please? Yes, this is the Hummel-Anderson surrogate. Kimberley Miller. Yes. 2pm? Thanks, see you soon.'

I figured I should let Kurt and Blaine know I'd be seeing the doctor, considering how once they knew for certain that their child was cooking quite nicely in my uterus, they'd become even more protective, and called them next. A breathy sounding Kurt answered just before the phone went to voicemail.

'He, hello?'

I heard rustling noises and a giggle in the background, but foolishly decided to continue with the call.

'Erm, hi, Kurt, it's Kim. I'm just letting you know I'm going to the doctors this afternoon to try and get something for my morning sickness, and he'll probably be able to let me know a better due date as well, so expect a call from me later, okay?'

There was a hushed whisper, and more giggling.

'That sounds great Kim. If you need a lift home, d-don't… hesitate to ask us, ok-_ay_?'

On the last syllable, Kurt's voice got higher, and there was the unmistakable sound of a suppressed moan. Don't laugh at me for taking this long to put two and two together and figure out what was going on.

'OH MY GOD YOU'RE HAVING SEX WHILST ON THE PHONE TO ME? WHAT IF THE BABY COULD HEAR YOU? THEY'D BE TRAUMATISED FOR LIFE!'

More rustling, and then a very deep voiced Blaine came on the line. Man, did he have a nice sex voice…

'We're very sorry Kim. We'll just get going now, I have something to… attend to, _immediately_. Talk later'

And he hung up. And then I had the image of the fathers of the baby in my womb doing the nasty. Wonderful, now I do again.

Dr Farmer was a miracle worker, and later that afternoon I emerged from the clinic with a bottle of anti-nausea medication and a load of pamphlets on morning sickness, which I decided to go home and read with some lovely buttery toast. After I'd enjoyed my informative meal, and decided that it was definitely time to invest in a copy of 'What to expect when you're expecting', I very hesitantly called Kurt and Blaine once more. This time, Blaine answered the phone swiftly, and with his voice back in its normal key.

'Hello Kim. Listen, me and Kurt are so sorry about earlier…'

I sighed exasperatedly. I had hoped that they'd just ignore that little incident..

'It's fine, please don't talk about it. I just forgot. Anyways, I'm all sorted for the morning sickness, thank god. Feel lucky you don't have to do this Blaine, seriously. And we have a proper due date now, you ready?'

I heard rustling on the other end (oh god, I thought, not _again_), and then Kurt's voice piped up.

'You're on speaker Kim. Go on, when is it?'

I smiled at his excited tone.

'January 28th. Sound good to you? I mean, I can't really change it if it inconveniences you, but…'

I could practically hear the grin in Blaine's voice as he answered.

'Sounds absolutely perfect'.


	8. Birthdays and Baby Pictures

**This is the last one for a while. Don't do a science degree unless you really have a passion for it, people, because I'm drowning in work right now. I've planned out this story to approximately eighteen chapters, so not too long :)**

**Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.**

* * *

><p>July came hurtling into my life fast, bringing with it my twelve week scan, oppressive heat and my 25th birthday. I hated them least to most in that order. I'd never liked birthdays, and this one just seemed even worse than the previous 24 I'd experienced. Maybe it was the midsummer heatwave, or maybe it was the constant nausea that had seemed to become immune to the magical tablets I'd been prescribed, but I was dreading the 15th of July more than any other day of the year.<p>

Every year since we met, and we met when we were eleven, Evie has cooked a big three course dinner for me on my birthday, and I do the same for her. It obviously started out as chicken nuggets and chips, carefully defrosted in the oven with parental supervision, followed by chocolate mousse out of a pot, but we'd both grown into quite established cooks, and it was always my favourite part of my birthday 'celebration'. However, it looked like my 25th birthday was not going to be even a slightly enjoyable affair. Turns out that Kurt and Blaine's baby hated me enjoying life in any manner in the first few months of pregnancy, and that included making me throw up every piece of otherwise incredible food that came my way. It was therefore with a heavy heart (and a sickly stomach) that I padded down the hall on the morning of the 15th to face my best friend and tell her she needed to break a fourteen year old tradition.

* * *

><p>'Evie?'<p>

I followed my nose to the kitchen, and almost burst into tears at the sight. It was only nine am, yet my best friend in the entire world was dancing around the kitchen in an apron, singing along to the Scissor Sisters and cooking up a veritable storm of delicious looking food. I could spy what I knew to be a gorgeous lasagne being assembled on the countertop, and the tell-tale signs of meringues being baked. She'd really gone all out, making my absolute favourite food in the world, and there I was ready to tell her that I didn't want it. I spotted a small but beautifully wrapped pile of presents on the dining table, and when I saw that she'd even wrapped a ribbon around Ernie's collar in celebration, the hormones went a bit too far and I started to cry.

'Kimmy? What's wrong? Don't you like it?'

Evie's concerned face swam into view, and I leant forward onto her shoulder to carry on my sobbing fit.

'No, Evie, it's perfect and wonderful and I'm so lucky to have you as a best friend. These are happy tears, I promise.'

She looked relieved but confused, and wrapped her arms around me.

'It's alright, Kim. I know it's just us tonight, but I wanted to get everything out of the way. We're going to go be tourists once you're dressed, there's so much we haven't seen in this marvellous city we live in, and it's about time. I figured The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum? Play up to our geeky sides, eh?'

She gave me a sharp poke in the side, and grinned.

'Drink your decaf and go get ready. Go!'

* * *

><p>I know that I'd dreaded my birthday for weeks, but the day me and Evie spent 'playing up to our geeky sides' as she put it was the best birthday I'd had in years. It was only when we returned to the flat to eat our food that things took a turn for the worse.<p>

Usually, I would've devoured the meal with vigour. It was my favourite, and Evie knew that. She'd probably decided against fancy and decadent food, and stuck to home comforts because she knew that I'd been stressed the previous few weeks. So when she lay a plate of steaming lasagne and salad in front of me, I'm fairly sure she didn't expect me to get up and knock my chair over in haste to get to the bathroom in time.

I heard a knock at the door almost as soon as I closed it, and Evie's worried voice followed.

'Kim? Please say you're alright. Just come out when you're ready, okay? We need to talk.'

I finished my ministrations, washed my mouth out and returned to the kitchen, only to find all the lasagne leftovers had been cleared into the fridge and the fresh smell of febreze covering the usually delectable, but then detestable, odour of garlic. Evie was sitting at the table, with the look normally reserved for teachers preparing to talk to some parents about a misbehaving child. I sat opposite and gulped, irrationally terrified of my friend, when she gently took my hand and looked into my eyes.

'Evie, I know. Please stop hiding from me. I know the signs. The sickness, the appetite change, the mood swings. Plus, I found this note'

She pushed a crumpled post it across the table.

'_Call Dr Farmer, need to arrange 12 week scan'_

'I know you're pregnant. I'm not mad, or disappointed, or whatever you must think to keep this from me like you have. Just be honest. Who is the father? Because the last I knew, you weren't seeing anybody...'

It was time. I was shaking like a leaf, and I was scared, but I knew Evie. I knew I could trust her with anything.

'I am pregnant. You're right. But it's a weird situation. The baby isn't mine. Well, it is biologically, but I'm a surrogate. It's only mine for six more months'

Her brow furrowed, but I couldn't deny that she looked relieved.

'Well, I can't say that I'm not glad. I wish you'd talked to me though, this is a huge decision. Whose baby is it? Anna and Claire's?'

I giggled at the reference to my sister and her wife.

'Why would it be theirs? They both have perfectly functional uteruses. No, it's a gay couple. I met them a few months ago, we hit it off, and now their bun is in my oven.'

'That… well, it makes more sense. Do I know them in any way?'

This was where I thought it got tricky, before I realised that it really didn't have to be. Like I said, Evie was the most trustworthy person I knew.

'Erm, yes, sort of. Look, I'll give them a call, see if they want to come over. You can meet them.'

She nodded in the affirmative, before leaving the room to do the washing up and make me some toast. I used the opportunity to call Kurt and Blaine.

* * *

><p>'HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM'<p>

I almost dropped the phone from surprise when I heard both men's voices shouting down the phone, but instead I just held it away from my ear and let a huge grin erupt on my face.

'Hey guys! Give a girl a heads up next time you scream at her, especially a pregnant one. Don't want the baby to fall out in shock now, do we?'

They both laughed, and a small scuffle took place on the other end of the line, before Blaine's strong voice came back on.

'We hope you've had a great day Kim, you deserve it. Me and Kurt have got you a little something, we'll give it to you when we meet up at the twelve week scan, okay?'

'Well', I began, 'you could just come over now if you're not busy. I finally told Evie that I'm pregnant, and I'd like you to meet her. She's one of the most important people in my life, it's only right. She's perfectly trustworthy, but expect some squeals and hugs, she really loves you guys.'

The voice on the phone switched to a softer, higher tone.

'Sounds great Kim. We'll be there soon!'

Kurt hung up, and I let the phone drop onto my lap as I sunk back into the sofa. Evie came back in carrying Ernie, and sat down next to me, where we awaited the arrival of two men Evie had always wanted to meet.

* * *

><p>Just over half an hour later, the doorbell rang, and I wrestled my way out of the squidgy grasp of the couch to answer it. Evie, very tactfully, hung back, and instead stood in the centre of the living room to wait for my return with the guests.<p>

Kurt wrapped me in a hug as soon the door was open. I'd found that once you broke through the slightly formal barriers the man held up, he was very loving and tactile, and being a bit of a cuddle whore, I couldn't complain. Blaine came up behind, and gave me a kiss on the cheek as soon as Kurt had let go. I couldn't help but notice the slight bed-head hair both men had going on, as well as the subtly mismatched and wrinkled clothes.

'Do you two just have, like, non-stop sex or something? Because seriously… it's thirty five degrees out. Your air conditioning must be amazing.'

They both laughed, and Kurt blushed a deep crimson. Blaine threw an arm around his husband, looking a million times happier than the man I'd met that day at the park.

'Something like that, yeh. Our air conditioning is pretty phenomenal…'

Kurt slapped him on the chest, before playfully chastising Blaine and kissing him soundly on the lips. I loved seeing the two happy, their relationship was something I truly envied and admired. Kurt turned back to me.

'Time to meet the infamous Evie then?'

I nodded in affirmation, and led them to the living room. Evie had her back to the door, but span around quickly when she heard the sound of us enter.

'Hello, I'm Evie, I'm so glad to…'

She trailed off slowly, eyes wide in astonishment and jaw dropped so low I thought it was dislocated. Blaine bravely stepped towards her, hand out, and introduced himself.

'Hello Evie, I'm Blaine Anderson and this is my husband, Kurt Hummel.'

Kurt gave a little wave from his position next to me, and nudged me in the side, before whispering _'Is she going to be okay?'_ in my ear. I quite honestly had no idea, considering Evie was still gaping like a stunned fish, when all of a sudden she snapped her mouth shut and gestured for me to follow her to the kitchen. I threw a bewildered shrug and glance in Kurt and Blaine's direction, before following my friend. As soon as we reached what Evie had obviously deemed a safe distance, I was assaulted.

'You are carrying the child of _Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson_? And you didn't TELL ME? How could you? When did this even happen?'

'Well, I'm twelve weeks gone, and we met about a month before I got pregnant. I met them in the park, I was on my way to deliver a victoria sponge to Terri's bake sale when I found them on a bench. One thing led to another, which led to us getting drunk here while you were at your parents for the weekend, and that led to me offering to carry their baby, and boom. Bun in the oven. Well, not boom exactly, it involved a lot of peeing on sticks and a large syringe…'

Evie sighed, and ran a hand through her long blonde hair.

'Wow. Just, _wow_. I mean, you're so lucky Kim.'

'Why? People keep telling me I'm lucky. I don't see how. I'm just giving two men who deserve to be parents a baby.'

Evie looked at me like I was mad.

'True. But you're giving _Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson_ a baby. It's a bit of a big deal.'

'Well, yes, but you better keep your mouth shut missy. We don't want the media to know anything about this yet.'

She raised an eyebrow as if to say _'Duh!'_ and carried on talking.

'Of course. Now, lets get back in there. I finally have the chance to talk to Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson, and we're standing in our kitchen.'

Before I could mention the fact that she'd dragged me out of the room, she'd returned to the living room.

* * *

><p>Kurt and Blaine were sitting on the rug tickling Ernie's belly when we rejoined them. Evie took a deep breath and stood in front of them.<p>

'Sorry about that. This is just a bit strange..'

She laughed nervously and started picking at her nails, her usual go to response in stressful situations. Kurt tilted his head slightly and smiled.

'We understand. You did better than Kim over there. She fainted.'

Evie snorted and turned to me with an incredulous look.

'Seriously?'

'Leave me alone! I may have just gone into a very coincidental hypoglycaemic shock!'

'_Sure_… Now, which film?'

* * *

><p>The three of them got on like a house on fire, and we spent my birthday evening watching Rent and eating the meringues Evie had lovingly made that morning. I opened the gifts I received from everyone, which included a beautiful scarf from Evie, a bottle of my favourite perfume from Ernie, and an exquisite coat from my parents that I wouldn't fit into when winter finally rolled around. Kurt and Blaine gave me a delicate silver charm of a crib for my charm bracelet, and the 'hormones' came back in full force as I cried over my thoughtful presents, and I was comforted by the three people who meant the most to me, and the dog that just couldn't ignore a group cuddle session.<p>

* * *

><p>Two days later, and my twelve week scan had rolled around. To my outward chagrin, Evie took the day off work to accompany me and 'Klaine' (she still called them that when they were together, said it was much easier than three syllables) to the appointment. I may have chastised her for doing it, but I was secretly glad that my best friend could now share these moments with me. It was nice having someone there just for me, even if she jokingly claimed she only went along to hang out with celebrities.<p>

I couldn't help but feel nervous when Dr Farmer rolled up my shirt and applied the jelly. I knew it was irrational, but I couldn't help wondering about what they might have found. What if something was wrong with the baby? I'd never have forgiven myself. Evie had a tight grip on my right hand, and Kurt a hold on my left, with Blaine hanging onto his husbands other hand. We were a chain of concerned and nervous parents/friends/baby ovens, and we all took a collective breath as Dr Farmer placed the ultrasound wand to my stomach.

The black and white image on the screen was blurry as he moved the wand, but all of a sudden he stopped.

'Right there.'

We looked up to the monitor and gasped. Unmistakeably and not fuzzy at all, was a picture of the baby. Of Kurt and Blaine's baby. We could see the head, and torso, and its little arms and legs all splayed out. It was perfect. I didn't notice I was crying until I felt the tears drop onto my shirt, but everyone else was crying too. Kurt and Blaine's eyes were glued to the screen, and absolutely filled to the brim with the happiest tears I've ever seen in my life. Even Evie, the baby cynic, wasn't dry-eyed. Dr Farmer smiled at us, and saved the picture onto the computer.

'Now, we can't tell the sex yet, when you have your 24 week scan we can do that, if you'd like. But, I can offer some pictures, if you want?'

We all nodded our agreements and he chuckled,

'So, how many? It's a fairly unlimited number you're allowed.'

Kurt and Blaine started counting on their fingers and I heard the mumbled conversation, _'Well, there's us, Burt and Carole, Finn and Rachel, Mercedes, my brother..'_ They turned back to us.

'Six for us, please, what about you Kim?'

I thought about it for a second.

'Two please. One for me, obviously, and my parents are going to want to see one eventually.'

'And one more.'

Evie's tears were running in tracks through her make up, and she smiled sheepishly.

'If you don't mind, that is.'

Kurt and Blaine giggled.

'Of course we don't mind', said Blaine, 'we're glad that our baby is going to have so many people who love them.'

Dr Farmer confirmed the number and printed them off, before handing the first copy to Kurt and Blaine.

'There you go gentlemen. Baby's first photo.'

And if I never see anyone look as happy as they did in that moment again, I won't be surprised. It was astounding how much these men loved each other, and how much they obviously loved their baby. And I realised that I was lucky, after all.


	9. PhD's and Potatoes

**So, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, at all. It was written after one of the worst weeks I've had this year, when I had an absolute mountain of work and a terrible feeling of homesickness, so when I read my plan for this story and saw that it was basically about graduating university and parents, I decided to go in a completely opposite direction to my original plan as a sort of therapy. And it worked, I feel much better now :D But the chapter may be awful. Which leads me nicely onto the topic of... REVIEWS! Please review this story if you can, I'd love to know where I'm going right and wrong! **

**Warning: This chapter contains a crazy ass mother, slight BAMF!Kurt and shepherd's pie.**

**Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.**

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><p><em>Cause getting your dreams<em>

_It's strange, but it seems_

_A little - well - complicated_

_There's a kind of a sort of… cost_

_There's a couple of things get… lost_

_There are bridges you cross_

_You didn't know you crossed_

_Until you've crossed_

_And if that joy, that thrill_

_Doesn't thrill you like you think it will…_

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><p>That quote is not about Kurt and Blaine's dreams, don't worry. It's about mine. I was 18 weeks pregnant when I graduated. For the second time. I was finally Dr Kimberley Miller, PhD. After all that <em>work<em>, I had done it. I had achieved my life's dream. And I felt… empty. Not literally empty, I was really rather full of baby after all, but, in the immortal words of Glinda the Good Witch, it didn't thrill like I thought it would. I had worked my arse of since the age of eighteen to get to that point, and I still felt confused and unfulfilled about my prospects. About my future. I mean, what on earth do you do with that kind of qualification? Where was I heading? I didn't know. I just had a fancy title and some letters after my name. That doesn't _mean_ anything. But, as I woke up that morning and looked at my small but rounded baby bump, I realised that I didn't have the time to worry about such trivial things. Because that day was the day I told my parents I was pregnant, and the day they met Kurt and Blaine. And that was important. That day meant something.

* * *

><p>The graduation bit itself wasn't a big deal. Nowhere near as big as when you finish your undergraduate degree. God, that day was a farce and a half, all the pomp and ceremony that comes with leaving a historical institution with a fancy piece of paper in your hand is ridiculous. No, the presentation that day was simple. Just me, my professor, the dean and Evie, forty seconds, a handshake and the exchange of a certificate. Done. However, as much as I just wanted to go home, curl up on the sofa and lament my existence over a chinese takeaway with my best friend, that couldn't happen. Because my parents were coming.<p>

When you're in your first year of university, you get terribly homesick all the time. It's not stupid or rare, it happens to everyone, though some handle it better than others. I handled it well, and over the next three years that I spent in higher education and living away from them, I came to be well and truly independent from my parents. By the time I graduated my bachelors, I'd decided I never wanted to live at home again, and accepted the offer of a postgraduate education in London where I could live with my best friend. It was an easy decision for me. Absolutely none of that is to say that I hate my parents. On the contrary, I adored them and loved them to distraction, but let's just say that once I became an adult, having them around in large doses (i.e. more than a couple of hours) became somewhat agonising. And on the day their youngest daughter became a Doctor (yes, capitalised, they were that proud), they wanted to be there. And I just couldn't refuse them that, now could I?

* * *

><p>Kurt, Blaine, Evie and I had decided (over a beautifully cooked shepherd's pie made by yours truly) that the time had come to tell my parents about the surrogacy the night before my graduation. I had been dilly-dallying around the decision for a while, but I knew as my friends spoke the words that they were right.<p>

'They're bound to notice the bump, aren't they Kim? I mean, you are going to be wearing a pencil skirt. They're not made to hide indiscretions…'

I rolled my eyes at Evie's choice of terminology, and turned to the couple trying to stifle their chuckles to my left.

'What do you think I should do? They'll want to meet you guys if I do, and they don't live in a cave, they know who you are…'

Kurt looked pensive for a moment before answering with full confidence.

'You should tell them. They're your parents, of course you should tell them. They'd be hurt if you kept it from them any longer. Imagine Christmas, 'Oh hi mom and dad, ignore the fact that I'm eight months pregnant and pass the cranberry sauce would you?''

Blaine stopped feeding Ernie chunks of potato and looked up.

'I completely agree. You should tell them.'

'Well of course you agree, you're married to him' I replied irritably, 'He'd probably deny you sex if you didn't.'

'However true that statement is, it doesn't make mine less false either.'

I sighed, knowing that they'd beat me, and looked to Evie.

'Is the bump really that noticeable in the skirt? Because it's new, and it's not going to fit soon, and I just wanted to wear all my nice clothes before I become a whale…'

My dinner guests took pity on me when they saw the tears begin to shine in my eyes. The hormones made me have terrible mood swings back then, and thinking about getting fatter always made me cry.

Kurt took my hand and squeezed it tightly.

'Honey, you're beautiful, and you'll never look like a whale, we promise. You'll look like a gorgeous, glowing pregnant woman. I swear.'

I giggled at the strange mental image of me being some sort of hippy Eve-esque woman with a halo, wrapped in vines and holding my protruding stomach.

'Oh stop, you're going to make me blush, and make your husband jealous', I replied, hugging Kurt and sticking my tongue out at Blaine behind his husband's back.

'So, the verdict is to tell them, yes?'

The three people facing me nodded their agreement.

'Yes.'

* * *

><p>They arrived at the train station about two hours after I received my PhD. It certainly gave me enough time to panic, debate running home to change into something more forgiving, get persuaded out of it by Evie, sneak off to go purchase something more forgiving, get dragged out of the shop by Evie and get my first ever taste of caffeine in over 4 months from Evie because she couldn't stand my nervousness. By the time they arrived, I was blissfully high on a sip of fully caffeinated tea, and not at all bothered by my proudly protruding bump, tastefully accentuated by my high waisted pencil skirt and tucked in white shirt. I was feeling pretty damn good when I heard it reverberate around the station concourse.<p>

'KIMMY BEAR!'

And then the illusion shattered. I span around to be greeted with my parents grinning faces, weighed down with at least 4 suitcases (they were staying for two nights…) and the knowledge that they hadn't hugged me in over six months.

'BABY PIE, WE'RE SO HAPPY TO… wait.'

My mother, an intimidating woman, threw her arm out to catch her husband in the chest and stop him in his tracks. Her lips pursed into a thin line and her gaze was fixed firmly to my stomach. She spoke firmly and without even glancing at my ashen face.

'You're pregnant.'

Her surprisingly youthful features were arranged into a look of disappointment, her usually warm blue eyes ice cold and glaring at the offending bump as if she could wish it away.

'When, Kimberley Andrea Miller, did this happen? Is it that boy's? I warned you Kim, I warned you. And now look at the mess you're in. I don't think I've ever been this ashamed.'

The woman I saw before me at that station was not my mother. It couldn't have been. The amazing woman who had raised me, taught me how to be open minded and accepting, who comforted her eldest daughter when she tearfully came out to us all, and told her that she would love her no matter what, was not the one who angrily snapped at me that day, it couldn't have been. But sometimes people aren't what we think.

'It's not what you think mum, let me explain this to you, _please_'

She looked into my eyes then, every trace of excitement and happiness gone.

'Alright. Let's go back to your flat then. Don't want to air our dirty laundry in public.'

She brushed past me without looking back, heading to the taxi rank, leaving me and Evie with my father. He wrapped his arms around me with such love that I couldn't stop the tears falling down my cheeks.

'It's not what it looks like daddy, I promise.'

He smiled, and wiped my tear stained face with his thumb.

'I believe you sweetheart. Your mum is just overwhelmed. It'll be fine, you'll see. Now, come on. Best get going, eh?'

He grabbed the suitcases my mum had abandoned, and kissed the top of my head before following in the direction she had stormed off to.

'It's going to be alright Kim, it's going to be just fine. We'll get back, and explain everything. They'll be understanding and wonderful and they'll adore Kurt and Blaine when we go out to dinner tonight, okay?'

Evie embraced me tightly while I sobbed, and shushed me with comforting noises. Truth be told, as she explained to me later, she did that not only to comfort me, but so I wouldn't have to see her tears too. Evie had met my parents so many times in the fourteen years our friendship had existed, and not once had my mother ever been like that. She reluctantly let me go and led me to the taxi rank, where my parents were nowhere to be found.

'They must've already gone. They know our address. Come on, you need a cup of tea. Let's go home.'

* * *

><p>As Evie had predicted, my parents were at our door when we arrived home. They looked strained, and my father's face was red, as if he'd just been shouting particularly furiously. I was secretly glad, it probably meant he'd stuck up for me in a slanging match. I trod up the garden path to the door, past my mother who was staring at me again as I passed her.<p>

Once we were seated in the living room, Elaine Miller fixed my eyes with a cold glare and began to speak.

'Go on then. Explain your indiscretions.'

However inappropriate it was, I laughed at the unintentional reference to last night's conversation. I tried to catch it, but not quick enough.

'Do not laugh young lady, this is not an amusing situation. Now, _explain_.'

'This baby is not mine.' My mother went to open her mouth, but I kept on talking.

'Biologically, I am its mother. However, I am a surrogate for a lovely couple I befriended about six months ago. I am eighteen weeks pregnant with _their_ child, and I will never, ever have anything to do with raising this baby. They are the parents, not me.'

My dad had a relieved smile on his face, but my mum did not look mollified.

'I need to meet these people. They're ruining your future.'

'No mum, they're not. I'm going to be pregnant for five more months, I have plenty of time after that to decide what I want to do in life.'

That was most decidedly the wrong thing to say, as my mum's face burned a bright scarlet and she stood up out of her chair.

'NOT DECIDED? Why did we pay for this degree if you don't know what you want to do? Are you seriously telling me that you have wasted _our_ money on this?'

My dad looked shocked at her words, and tried to calm her down.

'Come on Elaine, she's smart, she deserved to do this, to challenge herself in this way. We have the money to do let her do it, and she's our daughter, stop being silly. She's allowed to be unsure right now.'

'NO GREG! No. I want to meet this couple. Now.'

* * *

><p>'I'm so sorry, I just… I just, I don't know. I didn't want it to be like this.'<p>

Blaine held me as I sobbed into his shoulder on my front door step, with Kurt furiously pacing a few feet away on the cobbled path.

'How dare she? You are amazing Kim, you do not deserve to be treated this way. Nobody does! Wait til she meets me, damn woman won't know what hit her…'

I lifted my head from Blaine, and grinned in Kurt's direction.

'Thank you. I don't know why she's being like this. I didn't think she would be…'

Blaine took a handkerchief from his pocket (Kurt mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'dapper idiot') and dabbed at my eyes.

'Shush now. Let's go inside and face this head on, okay? Besides, we've left Evie and Ernie in there all alone. Can't do that now, can we?'

I nodded shakily, and we trooped back indoors.

'Mum? Erm, this is Kurt and Blaine. They're the parents.'

If my mother's face got any redder, she would've exploded. As soon as she clapped eyes on the pair, she launched herself from the couch to where we were standing by the door.

'You _stupid_ girl! A celebrity baby! I never thought I'd have raised a cash-whore for a daughter! How much are they paying you to do this? All that student debt, got to be paid off somehow, so you decided to sell your body like some common _prostitute_, right?'

'HOW DARE YOU?'

Kurt could be silent no more, obviously. He pulled himself to his full height, a good eight inches taller than my mother, and stepped into her personal space with a look of pure rage on his usually delicate features.

'Your daughter is an _amazing_ woman, Mrs Miller. She is not a _prostitute_, she is my friend! She is our friend! She is our friend who is doing a wonderful service for us, by allowing us to have the family we have always dreamed of! How _dare_ you even _try_ and insinuate that your own FLESH AND BLOOD is nothing except a smart, accomplished, beautiful young woman with a kind and loving heart? How could you even call yourself her mother?'

'You have no right to say that to me, you are ruining her life!'

'No, Mrs Miller.' Kurt replied, with a weary voice, 'She is not ruining her life. She is creating a new one. For us. And we could never be more thankful for a person than we are of your child. You don't deserve her as a daughter if this is how you treat her.'

She gave him an icy glare before turning to my father.

'We're leaving Greg. Now.'

Without even acknowledging anyone else in the room, she walked over to me, and spoke in a low and angry tone.

'You have no future. This will ruin it. I hope you can live with that.'

And with no other words, my mother stormed out of the room and out of my life.

* * *

><p>'I'm so sorry Kimmy Bear.'<p>

My dad enveloped me in a hug like only a dad can, before pulling away slightly and holding his face in my hands.

'I love you baby girl. I love you, and I always will. I am so proud of you. I am proud of what you achieved today, and I am proud of the selfless thing you are doing for these men. I will never stop being proud of you.'

He hugged me close to him once more, before turning to Kurt and Blaine, holding his hand out to shake.

'Gregory Miller. Sorry it couldn't be in better circumstances. You better look after my girl, you hear me?'

The men nodded their agreement.

'Good.' He shouted towards the kitchen, 'YOU TOO EVIE!'

'WILL DO MR. M'!'

He chuckled at her reply, and kissed my cheek.

'I'll see you soon Kimmy bear. I'll call as soon as I can. I love you.'

And with that, he left too.

* * *

><p>After I had cried and eaten enough Pringles to render a grown man comatose, I settled down on the sofa, with Kurt and Blaine on my left and Evie on my right to watch the latest episode of Doctor Who.<p>

'Well, that was a fun day...'

They all giggled, the spell of awkwardness broken, and I got arms wrapped around me from both sides. Then I felt it.

'Oh!'

They all turned to me in confusion, before it happened again.

'Heh! Oh my god!'

Kurt looked curious but excited.

'What is it?'

'The baby is kicking!'

A chorus of 'Oh my god!'s rang around the room, and the three people sitting with me scrambled to find a spare spot on my belly to feel. A few seconds later, as if on command, it happened again.

'Oh wow…'

Kurt and Blaine were crying (well, it was a huge moment for them), and Evie was laughing.

'Got a strong one there, guys.'

'Good', said Kurt through his cascade of happy tears, 'that's good. It's all good.'

Blaine kissed his husband's hair, and then brought his face to my bump.

'Hey there little one. We're so glad you're happy and wriggly in there, but don't hurt Kim, okay? We all love you, Daddy and Papa and Aunty Kim and Aunty Evie love you very much.'

So, maybe my future wasn't completely for certain. But I knew that one thing would be. I'd always have Kurt, Blaine, Evie and the little miracle. And that was enough for the time being.


	10. Cribs and Coffee

**Okay, I am _so_ sorry for taking approximately 892 years to update this. University is crazy, and I recently became addicted to Queer As Folk US, and all my spare time was taken by shipping Brian and Justin like my life depended on it :P**

**Anyway, this chapter contains ex-boyfriend drama and strong language. Just so ya know.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! VIRTUAL CUPCAKES ON OFFER!**

****Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.****

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><p>It was a mild Autumn morning, and I was peacefully sleeping. Evie had gone to work, the baby was having a rest from kicking me (I swear, this kid is going to be a footballer. Or a dancer. Or a kickboxer. You get the idea) and Ernie was cuddled up to my side and snoozing away with his adorable little puggy sniffle. I could've quite contentedly stayed in bed for <em>hours<em>, what with it being my day off work and all, but somebody had other ideas. Somebody named Kurt freaking Hummel. Anderson. Hummel-Anderson? You know, I'm still not sure about that… Anyway.

'KIM! ARE YOU THERE? IT'S 10AM, YOU SHOULD BE AWAKE BY NOW!'

He banged at the front door to the point of Ernie actually getting fed up of barking at the noise, so I decided to stop trying to pretend I wasn't there and dragged myself from the depths of my duvet cave to let him in.

I opened the door to the sight of a perfectly coiffed and presented Kurt, who was bearing two takeaway Starbucks cups in one hand and a bag of _something_ in the other.

'Don't be mad at me for waking you up Kim, we did have plans. And I bought you a hot chocolate!'

It took a few seconds, but it finally dawned on me. I was going shopping. With Kurt. Oh dear god.

'Shit, I forgot, I'm sorry! And sorry for the language. And the state of dress. And the state of the flat. But thanks for the hot chocolate!'

Kurt toed off his obviously designer boots and scooped Ernie up for a cuddle.

'I didn't want to say anything about the flat. But you're a perfectionist Kimmy, what's going on?'

'Well, Evie's firm just landed this _huge_ new case, so she's been working herself ill trying to help, and I…'

I paused and desperately tried to wrack my brain for an excuse before coming up woefully short anyway.

'I just can't be bothered anymore.'

Kurt sighed, and wrapped his free arm around my shoulders.

'I know this is hard for you. I know you haven't spoken to your parents since that day, and that you're confused about your future, and that you're lonely…'

'Way to make a girl feel good Kurt.'

'Sorry. But, none of that is any excuse to stop being the fabulous woman I know you are. So, I'm going to clean up a bit and make you a nice healthy breakfast, and you are going to take this hot chocolate and go shower and get dressed, and then we are going baby shopping. Because Blaine is hopeless at colour-coordinating and I simply can't not have a second opinion.'

He said the final sentence with a quirked smile and shooed me to the bathroom, before donning Evie's half-naked man apron and setting to work.

* * *

><p>I emerged from my bedroom forty minutes later looking far more presentable, in a cute brown pregnancy kaftan and jeans that Evie had gotten for me when I had a meltdown over my growing stomach. I followed my nose to the kitchen, where Kurt seemed to be putting the finishing touches on a batch of pancakes with <em>oh holy mother of god strawberries and vanilla ice cream<em>.

'Yeh, I know it's not particularly breakfasty, but it's 11am and you need it, so eat up and let's get going!'

I heeded his advice and scarfed down the pancakes like a rabid animal, my gaze falling on the bag on my (newly tidied) kitchen table.

'Kurt, what on earth is in the bag? We're buying things from the shops, not taking stuff to them…'

He smiled and reached into the bag, pulling out a gift wrapped in blue tissue paper with a silver ribbon.

'Well, I realised that Blaine and I had never gotten you a graduation present..'

'You didn't have to, nobody else did.'

'Shush, let me finish. As I was saying, we never got you a graduation present, and we felt that you definitely deserved something. So when I saw this, I couldn't resist.'

He handed over the present, and I began to unwrap it, gasping when I pulled a dark green peacoat from the paper.

'All those months ago, when we first met, and we got drunk, I distinctly remember you telling me that, and I quote, 'I would die for a coat like yours Kurty, I would love it like a child'. So, when I saw one, the same as mine, in a size that would fit you during your pregnancy as well as after, I just knew it was meant to be yours. I'm pretty handy with a sewing machine, so I adjusted it for your figure, and I'll do the same after the baby is born. So… yeh. Here.'

I shook the coat out, and couldn't help but admire the work Kurt must've put in to alter it for me, and the thought that went into getting it in the first place. I visibly balked when I saw the label (_fucking Alexander McQueen? Jesus…_) but Kurt shot me a look that quite clearly said 'don't you dare try and not accept this', so I simply grinned and pulled it on.

'Well, I guess we should go buy this baby some stuff, huh?'

Kurt beamed at me with a full, toothy smile and grabbed his bag.

'No child of mine should ever come into this world without a good amount of stuff, Kim. So yes. Let's go!'

* * *

><p>Kurt, somehow, has an insane knack for performing the impossible and nearly always finding a parking space in central London. Don't ask me how, because whenever I used to drive into the city with my parents, the day would inevitably end with my mother shouting, my dad crashing into a bollard and my sister crying over the road map.<p>

But anyway, he deftly reversed into a (on street!) gap, and cut the engine, before turning to me with a notebook which I could not for the life of me work out where he'd hidden.

'Right, here is a list of all the baby focussed stores within a suitable walking distance of here..'

'Wait, how? We only just got here…'

'I planned for many variables, now don't interrupt. Okay, so they're listed in distance order, and colour coded as to what they sell. Red is for clothing, blue for furniture etc etc, there's a key at the top of the page.'

'Right…'

'I told you not to interrupt. Now, there's also a list of necessary facilities such as public toilets, coffee shops and certain designer clothing stores.'

'Of course.'

'Exactly. Now, this is obviously all contingent on how much walking you're going to be able to do, because I understand that you will inevitably get tired…'

'No sir, fatigue is for the weak, sir!'

I added a salute for good measure.

'Don't get cocky with me. I think that's it for now. I bought pens and highlighters with me to add to the itinerary if necessary, I really don't want to forget anything, but let's just get started. First item on the agenda; nursery furniture.'

* * *

><p>We walked the five minutes to the designated furniture shop ('The map clearly stated this was a <em>three<em> minute walk away, Kurt.' This was then punctuated with a marvellous bitch glare and a stuck-out tongue. Phew.) and arrived at a rather lovely, quaint little window display, with broderie anglaise crib bedding and lacy curtains and an adorable cream rocking chair.

Kurt sighed happily at the sight, and dragged me through the door, zeroing in rather efficiently at the lone sales girl and striding over.

'Hello there. My name is Kurt and I am purchasing furniture for my baby's nursery. I wonder if you could recommend anything? The colour scheme will be baby blue and cream, but I don't want painted furniture, I'd much rather have a natural wood finish, a pale beech effect or something similar preferably.'

The girl looked momentarily perplexed, but quickly regained her sales face and beamed a smile at Kurt before leading us to the other side of the shop.

'I think we have just the thing for you. A five piece set, including crib, changing table, wardrobe, drawers and a rocking chair. It's pine rather than beech, but I believe the effect will still be desirable with the colours you have picked, and all of the pieces are engraved with a beautiful vine leaf design. It's certainly sturdy and built to last, hand crafted by our carpenters from only the finest pine, sir.'

She passed an apparently inferior white crib before showing us the set she was referring to, and oh my. I had to admit that it was beautiful. I could imagine it in the nursery Kurt and Blaine were creating perfectly (I had seen the room before), and even Kurt was supressing a smile of satisfaction at the find. He walked around the pieces, trailing his fingers across the wood and testing the mechanisms of each item before sitting down in the rocking chair.

'I have to admit, it is absolutely perfect. Well done…' his gaze narrowed on her name badge 'Laura, this is exactly as I imagined it should look. I suppose I should ask the price now?'

Laura's face froze in a fake smile, and trotted off to fetch the price.

'I don't think I even want to know how much this is going to cost, so don't tell me. Just… buy it Kurt. It's perfect.'

'Hmm, we'll see.'

Laura returned moments later, clutching a piece of paper in her hand, before handing it to Kurt.

'This is how much the entire set costs, sir.'

Kurt didn't show shock at the figure, so I assumed it was an acceptable price before…

'I think we'll be going. Lots to consider! Goodbye, Laura, thank you for the assistance.'

I shot him a confused look before following him to the door of the shop. We made it about five steps before…

'Wait!'

Kurt turned back to Laura.

'Maybe we could reconsider the price…'

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, Kurt emerged from the store with a heavily reduced, hand crafted bespoke nursery furniture set under his belt, and a satisfied smile on his face, much to my naïve confusion.<p>

'Um… How did you know that you could get it cheaper?'

'Kim, it was obvious. It was an independent business. That was the most expensive set in the store, handmade, one of a kind, and absolutely nobody would pay what she wanted to get for it if they had a working brain. I was probably the first person to show the least bit of interest in buying it, and they've probably been _dying_ to sell it for ages. I offered to buy it for a reduced but reasonable price, and she was most likely relieved that it was finally sold, rather than annoyed at the lesser offer. It's standard haggling, Kim. Honestly, you'd save so much money if you just tried!'

He threw an arm around my shoulder, and kissed the top of my head.

'Now, I think we need a coffee. Agreed?'

We found the nearest café from the list in Kurt's notebook, and headed in the right direction, our arms linked and sunny smiles of our faces from the so far successful trip.

My smile faded pretty damn fast as soon as we entered the cosy looking café though.

'Shit.'

Kurt stopped walking and turned to face me with a worried expression.

'Kim? What's wrong? Is it the baby? Have you gone into labour? Breathe Kim!'

'Calm down Kurt, it's not the baby, I'm not in labour, I'm breathing fine. It's nothing that serious. It's just… ex-boyfriend. Two o'clock.'

I had to hand it to him, Kurt knew how to subtly check out his surroundings. He clocked sight of the man in question, and turned back to me.

'Hmm, got to admit, he's pretty fine…'

'Kurt!'

'Sorry, sorry, joking. Bad break up?'

'Yeh. Look, where's the next café? I'd like to go…'

'Sure, let me get my…'

'Kim? Is that you?'

I cursed all the holy entities from every single world religion (including the flying spaghetti monster) when they couldn't just give me a break and let me leave unnoticed.

'Mark! Hi!'

Bloody Mark Strallen. Just… crap.

I chanced looking at his (stupidly handsome) face, and saw him staring at my stomach with undisguised shock. And then I realised, no, I couldn't tell him I was a surrogate, Kurt was right there, and thanks to me, Mark knew all about Kurt and Blaine, and I wouldn't put it past him to tell the papers. So I just plastered on a smile and started again.

'Wow, it's been a while. How are you?'

He dragged his gaze away from the bump, but did not attempt to rearrange his features from the unpleasant mask they presented.

'I'm doing well, thank you. Got a promotion two months back. I see you're prospering…'

I choked back an angry retort (and some tears) to answer him politely.

'I'm so happy for you, I know you deserved it. I just gained my PhD, but I've been a bit held up when it comes to finding a job, obviously!'

I laughed despite the completely unfunny situation, when I saw Kurt returning with, _thank god_, two takeaway cups in hand. My saviour.

'Kim! We must get going, we have so much to do. Nice to meet you, I'm Kurt. Now, come on!'

Mark shot me one more look… I don't know what emotion he was expressing, but I would say that it was a strange mixture between relief and disgust, before returning to the people he was with, and Kurt and I left the shop.

* * *

><p>Kurt managed to steer me to a bench in the park down the road before I burst into angry, ashamed tears. He set the drinks next to him before pulling me into an embrace and letting me cry all over his beautiful cashmere jumper.<p>

'Shhh, there, shhh Kimmy, it's alright. Come on, calm down, it's okay.'

I continued to cry ugly, fat tears into his chest before he pulled me away to wipe my eyes.

'Please tell me why this affected you so much. Just start from the beginning. I won't judge.'

I took a deep, calming breath and nodded.

'Well, erm, we met at university in Edinburgh. I was 20, he was 21. I thought it was love at first sight, but… Well, we fell quite easily into a relationship, and when I got the offer to come to London for post-grad, he came with me, got a job at an advertising agency here. We didn't live together, but I thought we were happy.

And then, well, the inevitable started happening. We'd been together three years, of course marriage jokes were going to occur. Just the whole 'when are you going to make an honest woman of her?'sort of thing. He usually just brushed them off. So did I. And then his friend got engaged. They had this dinner party, started the joking again, telling him it was about time he made a commitment. It wasn't serious, we were 24, of course it wasn't, but… He didn't talk to me for the entire evening, wouldn't touch me at all.

We got back to his, and he politely explained that he didn't want to marry me, he never wanted our relationship to be so serious and he regretted it immensely. I left in tears, of course. Had a week of wallowing in my pyjamas with some Ben and Jerry's before Evie dragged me out saying that if I didn't go do some research, I wouldn't graduate when I wanted and she'd be damned if that man ruined any more of my life. She never liked Mark. You should always listen to the best friend. Anyway, that was about five months before I met you, so I haven't seen him in nearly a year, and when I do, I'm pregnant. He must think I'm a baby craving slut or something…'

Kurt had been silent comfort through my teary story, rubbing circles on my back and humming his acknowledgment at appropriate times. When I finished, he held me tighter.

'Sounds like an asshole, Kim. You were lucky to get out. You will meet the right guy some day, and you'll get married and have children of your own. You're too wonderful for that not to happen.'

He stood up and pulled me with him.

'Me and Blaine can finish the shopping some other time. What do you say to going back to ours, calling Evie over and watching some musicals and eating some Chinese food?'

'Sounds bloody brilliant.'

We got back to the car and headed to Kurt and Blaine's flat.

'Sorry about today. It was meant to be perfect and structured and orderly.'

'It doesn't matter Kim. It can be done another time. You're more important right now.'

We pulled up to the gates and parked in the private car park, before leaving the car to go and spend some quality time with our loved ones in front of Mamma Mia.

Kurt didn't even notice he'd left the itinerary behind.


	11. Futures and Foetuses

**Last one until next week at the earliest. Really must start revising for my January exams (I put off writing an essay on Inborn Errors of Metabolism to write this, but what can I say, this was way more fun :P)**

**Warning: Contains angst of what I consider to be a mild nature that is swiftly resolved because this is a happy story. Also contains quite a lot of references to science and research yada yada (the job Kim goes for is an actual job by the way).**

**PLEASE REVIEW! PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE! **_(Don't you ever ever feel...)_

****Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.****

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><p>October rolled around faster than I'd have liked, to be honest. My bump had grown to the point of being the main attraction for elderly women wherever I went, and my boss at the book shop kindly informed me that he was selling the business and moving to Australia to live with his daughter, so I would be out of a job by the end of the month. He promised to write me a glowing reference, and wished me luck with the rest of my pregnancy, so I couldn't be too angry at him.<p>

Evie's firm had won their star case, and Evie had been promoted to some higher position in the firm that I still have no idea what the official job title of it is (I just know it involves more paperwork and less grovelling). Blaine was working on a new album, and Kurt was quite happy for the time being with his life as a gentleman of leisure, before everything would be turned upside down with the arrival of the baby.

So, life was going swimmingly for my friends. And I was so happy for them, really, I was. I'm a giving person, remember? But while everyone elses lives were progressing, mine was stagnant and boring. I was single, unemployed, and covered in stretch marks, and could not for the life of me work out what I should be doing with myself. I spent day after day, trawling through the Guardian job pages, googling decent graduate schemes, and hauling myself around central London, searching for a menial job to tide me over in the meantime. I never had any luck. They all took one look at the bump, and bam. 'Sorry miss, but we don't have any suitable positions open at the present time. Feel free to check again in a few months.' A few months wouldn't _really_ do, I couldn't rely on Evie to pay most of our rent forever. I needed something then and there.

* * *

><p>Evie and I were at Kurt and Blaine's for our weekly movie night (that usually ends up being Kurt and Blaine making out on the sofa, Evie talking to a client on the phone and me, engrossed in the film and sobbing into a box of After Eight mints) when I found it. Kurt was cooking something garlicky, Blaine and Evie were engaged in a heated game of chess and I was reading the newspaper when…<p>

'A-HA!'

Kurt's head popped around the door with a worried expression.

'Are you okay? Is it the baby?'

I sighed and folded the paper into my lap.

'Stop jumping to that conclusion every time I exclaim in surprise slash any other emotion that warrants a gasp. I'm fine and so is the baby. No, there's a job in the Guardian. An actual, honest to god, graduate science research job with a decent salary and achievable location… I can't believe it.'

Blaine and Evie halted their game and rushed to the sofa to look at the advert.

'You're definitely qualified enough Kimmy.. Oh my god, this is so perfect! You have to apply _right now_.'

I giggled as Evie grabbed the laptop and entered in the website for the applications.

'Calm down! The closing date is a few days away, I have time, I don't have to fill it in _right_ now!'

Blaine fixed me with a stern look.

'Kim, Evie is right. This job is perfect for you, so why not apply now? You have plenty of time to do it whilst you're here, and we can help, right Kurt?'

'Sure!', came a voice from the kitchen, 'What's the job title again?'

'Postdoctoral fellow and junior scientific officer in the Biophysics department of a cancer research charity.'

Kurt came into the sitting room, wiping his hands on a towel with a slightly confused look on his face.

'Right… Erm. Well, I can help with those questions like, 'What's your best quality?' kind of thing!'

'They don't really do those for this sort of job…'

Kurt looked disappointed, and returned to the kitchen mumbling under his breath.

'Stupid science. Why couldn't she be a French major? I could help then…'

Blaine giggled at his husband, and beckoned for me to hand over the laptop, which was bearing a list of necessary qualifications and certificates for applicants. He began reading them to confirm that I had them, and smiled when he got to the end.

'Well, I see no reason why you shouldn't fill out the form now. This could be a great start for you Kim. Just go for it.'

'Ugh, ever the wise one, Mr Anderson. Makes sense, considering how much hair you have. Think of all the wisdom that can be stored in there!'

A muffled chuckle emerged from the kitchen, as well as a not so muffled one from Evie. Blaine poked me in the shoulder in retaliation, and walked off to help his husband finish the dinner. Evie shuffled closer to me on the sofa, and lay her head on my shoulder.

'You going to do it?'

I thought for a moment, before smiling and nodding.

'Yeh. Blaine is right, as always. This could be a great new start for me.'

* * *

><p>A week later, I was busy cleaning the kitchen counters when an excited Evie bounded into the room, Ernie under one arm and an A4 brown envelope in the other.<p>

'KIMMY! Oh my god Kim, you have a letter from them. And it's a _big_ envelope. It can't be a rejection with a big envelope!'

I took the proffered letter from her, and had to admit… It was big, and quite weighty for paper. They wouldn't put all that effort in if they were just going to reject me, right?

It took a few deep breaths, but I eventually ripped open the envelope and removed the main letter, scanning the first paragraph for…

'_we would like to invite you for an interview on the 24__th__ October at 2.30pm at our main research facility in…'_

'YES! I GOT AN INTERVIEW! I ACTUALLY GOT ONE! Oh my god Evie, oh my god. I didn't think I actually would! I mean, just… There's must have been hundreds of applicants. I think I need to sit down…'

I collapsed onto the chair Evie had pulled out just in time, and returned my thoughts to the envelope. The rest of the papers in there were standard maps, leaflets on the charity and it's work, as well as forms to fill out and information on procedures I needed to be aware of. It was immensely overwhelming to be faced with proof that I wasn't just some ditzy girl who likes food too much and swears all the time, but a proper, educated, accomplished woman who could actually get an interview for a job at a prestigious charity like that.

'Kimmy, you have to call Kurt and Blaine. They'll be so freaking happy for you!'

'I know, I know. I just need a minute.'

I regained my composure, and managed to calm the wildly kicking child in my uterus (the baby always responded to my heartbeat if it got particularly high), before dialling Kurt and Blaine's number. Kurt picked up almost immediately.

'Kim? What happened? Is it the…'

'If you say 'is it the baby?', I will throttle you. The baby is fine. I just wanted to let you and Blaine know that I got an interview for that job I applied for when I was at yours.'

'That job when… OH MY GOD KIM! OH MY GOD LET ME GO FIND BLAINE! BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINE! KIM IS ON THE PHONE! SHE GOT AN INTERVIEW FOR THAT JOB! BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAINE!'

I heard the thunder of footsteps running towards the phone, and held it slightly away from my ear in preparation for the sheer volume that Blaine's voice takes when he's being, for want of a better term, an excited puppy, as opposed to his usual, dapper self.

'KIM! I'M SO DAMN HAPPY FOR YOU! I told you you'd get one, I _told_ you, didn't I? Didn't I?'

I giggled at his adorableness (is that even a word?) and answered him.

'Yes Blaine, yes you did. Now, I have to go pick out the perfect outfit for my interview in FOUR DAYS TIME, and you need to go.. I don't know, kiss your husband or do the washing up or something.'

Blaine laughed loudly, and replied with a teasing tone.

'Hmm, I think I'll go with the former. Well done though Kimmy. Kurt and I are so happy for you, you deserve it more than we could say.'

The warmth and love of his words spread through me, and I started to choke up before I could get away.

'Thank you Blaine. Really, really, thank you.'

'No worries Kim. We shall have to meet up tomorrow night and celebrate. But, for now, I'm going to take your advice and go kiss my husband. Bye!'

I ended the call, and was immediately wrapped in my best friends embrace.

'Okay, so I heard the word 'outfit', and I'm going to assume that means that we need to pick something absolutely wonderful, yet conservative and smart, for your interview. So, lets get to it!'

* * *

><p>After an evening spent celebrating my success (with a bottle of red for Kurt, Blaine and Evie and a can of fully sugared, blissfully caffeinated coca-cola for me), and a day spent shopping for the ideal 'I'm a serious scientist, but I also know I look good in this dress' interview outfit, I was completely buzzed and only a huge bit nervous for my interview. I arrived at the specified location desirably early, and was ushered to a waiting area, where there were a couple of other interviewees. They all looks up at my arrival, presumably to check out the competition, and they all smirked when they saw the bump. They must've thought that there was no way I'd get the job pregnant, and went back to reading their journals or scrolling on their smartphones.<p>

I couldn't help but feel apprehensive as, one by one, my fellow applicants were called in and their seats taken by yet more hopeful candidates. There must've been around twenty individual people waiting for an interview in the quarter of an hour or so that I was there. It did not bode well for my chances, and the baby knew it too. It was kicking like mad, and I had been having terrible back pain all morning because of my stress.

Before I knew it, my name was being called and I anxiously made my way to the office of the interviewer, clutching my handbag in one hand and massaging my sore stomach and back with the other. The female secretary who was escorting me gave me a sympathetic look, and then I was there.

The man behind the desk seemed like your average academic. A bit eccentric (you have no idea how many mad scientists I've met), but well turned out, with a smattering of a beard and kind eyes. He stood to greet me, and shook my hand before introducing himself.

'Good afternoon Dr Miller, I'm Professor Alan Walker, head of the Biophysics department here. I'm the one who you'd be working under if you got the position. Now, before we get started, I'm going to cut straight to the point. You're, from the looks of it, about six months pregnant?'

I had been expecting this, except not quite so bluntly perhaps, so I merely smiled and replied.

'I am, I'm due in about 15 weeks, but I'm a surrogate Professor Walker, and therefore will not require maternity leave except of a week or two to recover after the birth.'

He sighed in relief, and turned to the paper in his hand.

'Good, that is certainly no issue then. Right, onto your education. You studied your bachelor's degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at Edinburgh…'

Twenty minutes into the interview, the pain in my stomach was getting to the point of being unbearable. I hadn't been too worried, all the books warned about Braxton-Hicks, but then I felt it. A sharp pain seemed to rip across the bottom of my stomach, and I couldn't help but cry out in pain.

Professor Walker jumped from his chair and rounded the desk to try and help.

'Dr Miller, are you feeling okay?'

The pain came again, and I doubled over with a silent sob. I couldn't help but jump to the worst possible conclusion. Everything around me blurred into nothing, and all I could do was silently pray that the baby in my womb would be alright. I didn't hear Professor Walker call his secretary, I didn't hear her call the emergency services, and I didn't feel them lift me into the back of an ambulance. I just hoped and prayed to a God I didn't believe in that they could do something, _anything_, to save this baby's life.

* * *

><p>Three hours later, I was lying in a hospital bed, with a distraught Kurt and Blaine on one side and a frazzled Evie on the other. I was still pregnant, and I wasn't in pain, but none of us were sure of what was going on. Finally, after an eternity of silent worry, Dr Farmer came in, wheeling the ultrasound machine.<p>

'Right, I think it's about time I set all your minds at ease. The baby is absolutely fine. Kim's placenta tore a little, with a couple of weeks rest at home and some medication you should be back to normal in no time. We can't say what caused it I'm afraid, but both Kim and the foetus are healthy now, and that's the main thing. I'm just going to do a quick ultrasound scan now, and then you can get off home, but _please_ stay off of your feet for at least a few days Kim. You may have to see about moving somewhere temporarily where you can have around the clock care, as I know Evie is a busy woman.'

Kurt spoke for the first time since I'd heard him ask my name at reception all those hours earlier, and it came out hoarse and exhausted.

'She can come stay with us, for however long she needs. Evie can come too of course, we can't separate you. Oh, and Ernie. Just, please let us look after you Kim_. Please_.'

Kurt's eyes were pleading, and he looked as if he were about to cry. I couldn't imagine how he and Blaine must've felt when they thought the worst had happened. I know how I felt. I felt like a complete and utter failure. How could I have been so careless as to nearly lose their baby? I honestly don't know what I would've done with myself if that'd happened.

I nodded my agreement, and he clutched my hand tighter in thanks.

'Now', spoke up Dr Farmer, 'I think we can find out the sex in this scan. Would you like to know?'

We all looked between each other and smiled.

'Yes', said Blaine, with the first smile I'd seen on him that day, 'yes we would.'

I could hear Kurt, Blaine and Evie whispering something about a bet whilst Dr Farmer searched around my bump with the wand. They must've bet on the sex when I was asleep at some point. The image stilled on a profile of the baby, bigger and clearer than it had been at the first scan, and impossibly even more magical.

'Just let me…' Dr Farmer wiggled the wand a bit before exclaiming, 'Ah! There we go… Now, congratulations Mr Hummel, Mr Anderson, you will soon be the proud fathers of a baby girl.'

A quiet sigh of disappointment from Evie signalled that she had lost the bet, but she soon joined in the excited squealing from the other members of our little group. I just stared at the screen, unable to imagine that there was a little girl in me, and I'd nearly lost her. Blaine sensed my sadness, and wrapped me in his strong arms.

'Shh, Kimmy, shh. We're all fine. You and that little girl are healthy and beautiful. She's a fighter, Kim, I can tell that already. Why, with us as her biological parents we can be sure of that. We can also be sure that she's going to be a genius, have terrible hair and a tendency to jump on furniture.'

I chuckled at his (slightly working) attempt to cheer me up, and wiped away the few tears that had managed to escape.

'Right. Well, if we're going to be moving into yours for a while, and I'm not allowed to overexert myself, you lot better get moving! Lots to do you know!'

* * *

><p>Two days later found me on the sofa in Kurt and Blaine's spacious living room with Ernie and a cup of tea, directing them and Evie on where to put the numerous boxes full of all the things we'd need to live with them. We'd decided that Evie and I would stay until the baby was born, so that Kurt and Blaine could be even more involved and nobody would have to worry about me being left alone if the worst happened again. Luckily, Kurt and Blaine had more than enough room for all our things, and even if Evie and I did have to share a bedroom for a little while, it was worth it for the security of the situation.<p>

'No, I colour coded all of the boxes Blaine, I _told_ you that orange goes in Kim and Evie's room!'

'Yes, well the yellow and orange are surprisingly easy to mix up! Why couldn't you use more distinct colours?'

'Because all the other stickers had been used on the boxes for the nursery, honestly, don't you listen?'

Evie came through the door after them, clutching an orange (yellow?) coded box and a small brown envelope.

'Oi! Stop your bickering you two and just get on with it! And, erm, this came for you Kim.'

With a swallow of dread, I took the letter from Evie's outstretched hand. I didn't want to open it. I didn't want to acknowledge the inevitable, but I had to. Kurt, Blaine and Evie watched with baited breath as I read the letter.

'Unsuccessful.'

They all put down the boxes and made their way over to the couch. Just in time too, because as soon as Evie's arms were around me I burst into tears.

'I knew I wouldn't get it. There were so many other candidates, and I missed half the interview, but I just… I just hoped, you know? I was crazy for even considering it in the first place.'

'No you weren't Kim. Circumstances beyond your control happened. That's the way life is, and we're so sorry that we caused it. You would've gotten that job if our baby hadn't ruined your interview.'

I took in Kurt's stricken face, and put my hands on either side of it, forcing him to look me straight in the eyes.

'You listen here Kurt Hummel. Anderson. Oh god, what is your last name?'

Kurt rolled his eyes, but did not move his head from my grasp.

'Hummel-Anderson, officially. Hummel to the media though. They're not big on name changes.'

'Okay then, Kurt Hummel-Anderson, you listen to me now. Don't you bloody dare blame yourself for this. This was neither yours, Blaine's or the baby's fault, understand? I didn't get the job for other reasons, he had plenty of information to go on before the incident occurred. Hell, we'd almost finished when it happened, I can't imagine what I'd have had left to tell him! It just wasn't meant to be, okay? I probably would've hated that job anyway. I've been thinking of applying for a teacher training course lately. It's always something I considered, but my mother wouldn't have approved. Something to do with a low salary and me being too clever to resort to wiping noses for a living. Stupid woman…'

'You'd be a wonderful teacher Kim. You'd be wonderful at anything.'

I grinned at him, and removed his head from my grip to pull him into a hug.

'Thank you. I'll start researching applications tonight. After dinner. But, for now, there are boxes to be moved, and I have a very hectic afternoon of drinking tea and watching re-runs of Top Gear planned, so get to it!'

He kissed me on the forehead, and went to join Blaine and Evie who had left to continue the heavy lifting.

'Okay then. Bye Kim', he kissed my stomach, 'Bye baby girl!'

'Bye daddy!'


	12. Setup's and Speeches

**This chapter has been the bane of my life for the past ten days since my exams finished. It has been rewritten from scratch four times, and I'm still not happy with it. But, it's here, and I'll let you be the judges.**

**Warnings for distinct lack of Evie (sorry! I just couldn't write her into this one very well, surprisingly) and a hint of a budding romance for Kim :D**

**This plea is more important than the ones from any other chapter. Please _please_ review. Please.**

**Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.**

* * *

><p>Rachel Berry-Hudson, despite all her faults, is a remarkable woman. And surprisingly intimidating. Who knew such a big voice could come out of such a small person? But I digress. No, I found out how much of a remarkable woman she was when, on the 2nd of December, at 32 weeks pregnant, I entered the Orchid Room at The Dorchester Hotel to find it bedecked in pink and silver streamers, balloons and confetti, with fifty of Kurt and Blaine's closest friends and family members all holding party poppers (<em>classy<em> party poppers, as I was later told) and screaming 'SURPRISE!' at the two, admittedly very surprised, men behind me.

* * *

><p>I knew there was going to be a baby shower for the guys. I had been informed a fortnight prior to the event by Rachel herself, and instructed to bring Kurt and Blaine along to the aforementioned location for 3pm. But I did not know how <em>spectacular<em> it was going to be. I shouldn't have been so surprised, really, I've seen the pictures of the Hummel-Anderson wedding and I knew that their family would never allow them to have any kind of substandard celebration, especially an occasion as important as a baby shower. But this was beautiful beyond compare. The sumptuous elegance of the room in which it took place was highlighted by floral arrangements of lilies and tulips, there were white silk tablecloths on every surface and the cake was quite simply a masterpiece in and of itself.

As I was mentally processing all of this finery, I heard two identically timed gasps. I turned to look at Kurt and Blaine, to find them both taking in their surroundings with huge grins and tears in their eyes. It didn't take long for Kurt's frantically moving gaze to settle on a well-built and bald middle aged man, looking distinctly uncomfortable in formal trousers and a shirt. As soon as Kurt's eyes met his, he pulled his hand from Blaine's and ran over to the man, knocking into him with force and causing a ripple of happy laughter through the crowd. The man wrapped his arms around Kurt, and let out a gruff laugh.

'Oh my god Dad, I'm so glad you're here. I've missed you so much!'

Kurt's father (Burt, as I recalled) pulled away from his son's hug to hand him a tissue.

'Of course I'm here, kiddo, of course I'm here. I'd never miss this for anything.'

I tore my eyes away from the men, only to find that I had been abandoned by my friends. Blaine had walked off and was talking to a man that I could only deduce was his brother Cooper (if the identical grins and hairstyles were anything to go by) and Evie had wondered over to the present table to drop off our gift.

I felt distinctly out of place, despite the fact that I was carrying the baby that was being celebrated, and stood awkwardly by the door until none other than Rachel herself bounded up to me, dragging a ridiculously tall man by the hand.

'Hi Kim! I'm Rachel Berry-Hudson, this is my husband Finn. '

Her wide smile faltered a little when Finn didn't say anything, and she 'subtly' elbowed him in the stomach.

'Oh hi, hi, I'm Finn, like she said…'

I shook his proffered hand before being pulled into a tight hug by his wife. After a few moments she let me go to scan her gaze across the busy room. I noticed that Kurt and Blaine had been well swept away into the crowd, and Evie was deep in conversation with a group of people over on the other side of the room. Just as my natural introvert panic was about to set in (there's a reason why it's only been me and Evie all these years), Rachel gently steered me toward an eclectic looking group of people standing near the chocolate fountain (yes, chocolate fountain. I know.).

'Hey guys! Everyone, this is Kim, Kurt and Blaine's surrogate. Kim, this is… Well, this is everybody.'

A mixture of warm smiles, acknowledging mumbles and one 'yo' (along with a whispered 'Noah!' from Rachel) followed her introduction.

'Okay, no, proper hello's please!'

Everyone seemed to roll their eyes in the same amused manner, before a beautiful black woman wearing a floral dress spoke up.

'Sorry about everyone, we're just used to Rachel over here being more than a little bossy…'

Rachel got out an affronted 'Hey!' before the woman carried on.

'Anyways, hun, I think you deserve some proper introductions. I'm Mercedes Evans'

She pointed to the blonde man beside her,

'And this is my husband Sam.'

She gestured to the Asian woman standing on her other side to continue the introductions

'Hi, I'm Tina Cohen-Chang and this is my husband Mike'

The tall Asian man next to her gave me a smile and a wave before the beautiful Latina woman to his left spoke up.

'I'm Santana Lopez-Pierce, and this is Britt… Britt?'

The blonde next to her seemed to jolt back into reality somewhat, before fixing me with a huge grin and hugging me.

'Hi I'm Brittany Lopez-Pierce. Wow, your bump is getting big. Can you still paint your toenails? Because I hated when I got so big I couldn't paint my toenails. But Nathan was worth it, obviously.'

Santana grinned at her wife, and kissed her lightly when she pulled back from the hug.

The introductions continued, and I met Artie Abrams and his wife Rebecca, Quinn Fabray and her husband Edward and Noah Puckerman ('Puck, though. Seriously, not Noah. Puck.') and his fiancée Lily.

'Right, so you've met us all now. We're Kurt and Blaine's friends from high school, you know from New Directions?'

Mercedes looked at me expectantly, and I nodded in acknowledgment. How I couldn't have heard of them all, after hearing the multitudes of stories about them from Kurt and Blaine.

'We'd introduce you to the kids, but maybe later, they're all rather enjoying the play area at the minute…'

She jerked her head towards the corner of the room where around 15 children of the party guests were playing with toys and some pilfered balloons. I chuckled as a little boy, quite obviously Finn and Rachel's son if the nose and height were any indication, squeezed a balloon a little too tight and let out an excited squeal as it burst in his arms.

Just as Rachel was about run over to see if he was okay, an ecstatic looking Kurt and Blaine walked over to us hand in hand.

'Hey guys! Oh my god, Kim, I hope they haven't scared you too much!'

Mercedes faked a stern look in Kurt's direction, to which he replied with a wink.

'Stop talking nonsense white boy, we wanted to meet the girl you've been raving about all these months.'

I coughed a little at the latter part of the sentence, and Blaine squeezed my hand.

'Well, she is pretty awesome, I think you'll all agree?'

Every one of the group nodded and came to hug me, before dispersing through the room to mingle with their other friends. Just as Rachel was about to leave to join Finn and her son, Kurt caught her hand.

'I know you did this Rachel Berry. If this were back in high school, I never would've believed that you could've produced something this beautiful, what with those atrocious animal sweaters you absolutely insisted on wearing…'

She mock punched him on the arm before he continued

'But now I know that you are the one of the most talented people I know. And thank you. This is perfect.'

Rachel stretched up to wrap her arms around Kurt's neck to bind him in a tight hug.

'It's Rachel Berry-Hudson now mister, and don't you forget it. And you're welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, Finn and my son seem to be having an eating competition, and the last time Alex tried to eat as much as his father I almost had to take him to the emergency room.'

She kissed both Kurt and Blaine on the cheek and squeezed my shoulder before departing to join her family.

* * *

><p>After a whirlwind of introductions to the various people in the room, including Burt and Carole, who were both amazingly nice and informed me that I'd be seeing them again at Christmas, and giving me orders to look after myself and let Kurt and Blaine do all the hard work (permeated with a mock outraged 'What?' from Kurt), I was finally whisked over to the last group of people.<p>

'Warblers! Listen up!'

Blaine nudged me forward a tad before carrying on.

'This is Kim, our surrogate.'

All the men who had looked up at Blaine's initial exclamation nodded and waved in my direction. They seemed a lot less eccentric than the New Directions lot, but I knew from Blaine's high school stories that they were no less crazy. Tales of gavels and horror movie nights that went hilariously wrong sprung to the front of my mind as I was introduced to everyone individually.

'This is Trent, and Flint… That's Thad. Ah, this is Nick and Jeff!'

The couple in front of me grinned and the blonde man hugged me as soon as Blaine stepped slightly away from my side (I got an uncountable number of hugs that day).

'Oh my god I'm so glad we got to meet you! Kurt and Blaine have told us so much about you! I'm Jeff Sterling, this is my husband Nick Duval.'

Nick laughed at his husband when I replied.

'All good things I hope?'

Jeff leant back and chuckled.

'Of course! Is it true you're a doctor? David's a doctor too, you should talk.'

Before I could clarify that I wasn't a _doctor_ kind of doctor, Jeff had dragged me over to where a handsome black man was standing with Kurt, Blaine, and a shorter Asian man talking about a gavel.

'David! David, this is Kim!'

Jeff shoved me lightly towards David, who laughed at Jeff and shook my hand.

'Hi, I'm David Thompson. Kim Miller right?'

'Uh, yes. Um…'

Jeff piped up from behind us.

'Kim is a doctor like you David!'

I shook my head fast.

'Um, no, I'm not a medical doctor, I have a PhD, it's just a title…'

David smiled widely at my answer.

'Oh wow, a PhD! What did you study?'

'Um, I have a bachelor's in Cell and Molecular Biology, my PhD is an extension of the microbiology side of that…'

'Wow, a lot of work then!'

I smiled at his honest enthusiasm.

'So, Jeff said you were a doctor?'

'Yeh, I'm a neurologist just down the road actually, at University College Hospital'...

* * *

><p>Before we could get too much more involved in a conversation, Kurt came over to us.<p>

'I'm so sorry to interrupt, but me and Blaine apparently have to make speeches now, and I think Kim should come with us.'

David looks momentarily disappointed, before shaking his head a little.

'Of course she should, go on, I just need to…'

Kurt looked confused, but then his eyes widened and he smiled hugely before leaving. David turned back to me, his hand scratching behind his ear in a nervous manner.

'Erm, I know this might be weird or something, but you seem really cool Kim. If I asked you on a date right now, what would you say?'

I tried to hold in the adolescent style squeal of excitement, but I couldn't contain it fully. Luckily, David just grinned at me instead of laughing.

'I would say yes, of course. Um, do you want my number?'

After exchanging numbers, I ran (read: waddled) off to where Kurt and Blaine were waiting for me at the front of the room, a huge smile on my face. What? A handsome doctor with a seemingly amazing personality and no extraneous nose hair to speak of had just asked _me _on a date. Of course I was happy!

Kurt read my excitement from a mile away and murmured in my ear before turning to the assembled crowd.

'_You know Jeff set you two up right?'_

I nodded my acknowledgment before replying.

'_Remind me to thank him later'_

Taking in my thrilled expression, Kurt pulled me into a hug and then began to speak to the room.

'Okay, so wow. Blaine and I would like to thank each and every one of you for being here today. This is the best surprise we could've asked for, and we're so thrilled that our friends and family could come and celebrate our joy at the new addition to our family with us today.

A few thanks are needed. One to Rachel Berry-Hudson, for putting this beautiful shower together and being my best friend, the best best friend I could've asked for. Three for my parents and my brother. Dad, you are the most incredible man I know, and I love you. Carole, over the past decade you have truly become my mother, and I couldn't have asked for a better one, and Finn, you are the best big brother I could've hope for. Another one for my mom, who I wish could be here, but I know that she'd be happy for me and that she'd be so excited right now. Thank you to my amazing husband Blaine, for just being you. Darling, you are my everything.

And last, but certainly not least in any way possible, the hugest thank you to Kimberley Miller. Without you, none of this would be happening. You are giving us the biggest gift anyone could give, and I will never stop thanking you for it. You have become one of our closest friends in such a short time, and you and Evie have made our lives here in London, away from our family, absolutely amazing. We both love you so much.'

I couldn't see through my tears by the end of Kurt's speech, so I simply threw my arms around him. The baby girl inside me was kicking wildly, and I took Kurt and Blaine's hand and placed them on my belly. Their beatific smiles were all the confirmation I ever needed to know that I would never regret what I was doing.

Blaine reluctantly pulled his hand away from his daughter's moving limbs, and held up his glass of non-alcoholic champagne to the room.

'To baby Hummel-Anderson!'

The entire room repeated the phrase and drank to toast the new baby. It resembled the night we found out about her so much that it took my breath away, but there was one big difference.

That night, I could feel her celebrating too. And in just eight short weeks, she'd be there, in person, being fawned over and loved by the two most amazing men in the world.

In just eight short weeks, I'd be in labour…

Oh joy.

* * *

><p><strong>So, there you have it. Now, you have a choice. Either next chapter we skip straight to Christmas, with Hudmel family fun and some papa Miller (and there's only two chapters left after the Christmas one) or we have a chapter with Kim's date, involving Klaine input and a lot more Evie (again, sorry she wasn't in this one). What'll it be, dear readers?<strong>

**Also, I have _so _much headcanon for this verse. There won't be a sequel as such to this, but definitely a series of oneshots taking place after the end of this story.**


	13. Starlight and Shyness

**So what was meant to be a filler chapter turned into the LONGEST THING I'VE EVER WRITTEN AHHHH! It's insane. But anyways. I had a thought the other day about people's headcanons for what my OC's look like. In my head Evie looks like a blonder Hayley Atwell (golden, not platinum) and Kim's dad looks like Tony Robinson. Kim looks like me, and you ain't getting a picture of that, so make her up all you like :P I encourage you to ignore my headcanons, because that's half the fun of reading isn't it? Filling in the blanks with your own imagination.**

**This chapter contains first date drama of all kinds and a conversation between Kim and Evie that I think they needed to have.**

**Also, I am sconeasincone on tumblr. Come say hi!**

**Also also, PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE I WILL LOVE YOU UNTIL THE DAY I DIE!**

******Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be. I also do not own Easy A (from which I obtained a quote for this chapter), the River Restaurant, Pizza Express (do they have those in places other than the UK?), Barts Medical School or anything else you recognise. I do own Pete though. I like Pete.******

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><p>'Okay, see you tomorrow then. Bye. Yeh, bye!'<p>

I hung up the phone with a grin, before glancing around the living room. Blaine and Evie were both at work, and Kurt was in the office, typing away, working on his screenplay. I let the phone call I'd just had sink in before coming to a stark realisation. I needed help.

'KURRRRRRRRT!'

I had no reply, but could still hear the distant sound of classical music coming from the direction of the office, Kurt's work soundtrack of choice. I tried again.

'!'

Still no reply. Time to pull out the big guns…

'KURT! THE BABY'S COMING!'

The music stopped abruptly and I heard the loud thuds of footsteps drawing closer before Kurt, flushed and panicked, flung open the door in a frenzy.

He rushed to my side and began feeling my stomach and, bizarrely enough, my forehead.

'Oh my god Kim, are you okay? Is the baby really coming? Oh god oh god oh god…'

'No, but I needed to get your attention.'

His hands snapped away from me and rested on his hips, his voice taking on a stern tone.

'And you thought the best way to do that would be to inform me that my child was about to be born seven weeks prematurely?'

'It was the first thing that came to mind. '

He rolled his eyes and smiled reluctantly.

'I suppose I should've learned by now. So, what is it this time? Cup of tea, new DVD or a hand getting up?'

'None of the above. This is far more serious.'

Unable to quell his curiosity, he leaned forward slightly.

'Ooh, do tell.'

I took a deep breath before replying.

'I have a date. Tomorrow night. With one Dr David Thompson.'

Kurt's squeal would've attracted rodents from all over the city of London if the Hummel-Anderson residence wasn't so properly insulated and soundproofed.

'Oh my god Kimmy! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Oh my god this is amazing.'

I grabbed his arm to heave myself from my reclining position on the sofa and looked him straight in the eyes. He sensed my anxiety and stopped his excited bouncing to sit opposite me.

'Okay, not amazing? Why is this not a good thing? You said you really liked him!'

'That's the problem, Kurt' I began, 'I _do_ really like him. I really really like him. He's handsome and smart and charming and funny and sweet and wonderful and that's a really big problem. Because he's American. And you Americans have a funny system of relationship formation that we Brits don't really abide to. In other words, you date. It's normal and common and expected. I have never been on a date in my _life_, save the occasional dinner out or trip down the pub with Mark in our early days. I have never been on a first date. I don't know what to do, how to act, what to wear… To put it bluntly, this is going to be a disaster.'

Kurt took in my ramble with a concerned expression. When I finished, he laughed lightly and wrapped me in a hug.

'Okay, it's not going to be a disaster. We all have to start somewhere! We'll all help you. When Blaine and Evie get home, we'll order a pizza and we'll start plotting. First thing's first, what's the plan for this date?'

'Well, he's picking me up at 7.30 tomorrow night and we're having dinner at the River Restaurant at The Savoy. Though god only knows how he got a reservation there on such short notice… I've never eaten anywhere that posh in my life!'

Kurt mumbled something that sounded like _'bet I know how he got one'_ before turning back to me with a contemplative look.

'Okay. Right. It's Saturday tomorrow, so we are all going to take you out to get a suitable outfit and have your hair and nails done. Tonight will be conversation practice and formal dinner etiquette lessons. Sound good?'

I heaved a sigh of relief and rested my head on Kurt's bony shoulder.

'Sounds perfect.'

* * *

><p>A few hours later (after Kurt had abandoned his writing in favour of watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail with me), Blaine and Evie came through the front door, banging their snow covered boots on the mat and shouting through to us that they'd gotten the message and collected the pizza we had ordered.<p>

I not-so-gracefully pulled myself off of the sofa to the dining room, where Kurt was serving slices of pizza onto plates. It always made me smile that Kurt absolutely insisted that, unless you were bedbound or acceptably absent, dinner was always to be served on plates, at the dining table, and everyone had to be there, even when we were just eating a takeaway.

I collapsed onto a chair whilst Blaine found glasses for everyone and Evie retrieved a bottle of mineral water from the depths of the Hummel-Anderson's cavern-like refridgerator. Blaine leaned over Kurt to set the table, holding his waist with one hand to steady himself, before pulling back to kiss him on the cheek.

I smiled at the couple without even realising I had. Images of me being in such a comfortable relationship floated in the back of my mind, before I dispelled them, reminding myself that I hadn't even gone on a first date with the man yet, and I was getting way too ahead of myself. Evie though, being almost fifteen years experienced in my facial expressions, caught my glazed smile and raised a perfect blonde eyebrow.

'Okay, I haven't seen that look on your face in _years_. So, spill. Now.'

She poked me hard in the arm, and Kurt and Blaine joined us at the table, Kurt grinning from ear to ear.

'Go on Kim, tell them! Or I will!'

I forced myself to sigh theatrically, before giggling and answering Evie's command.

'So, I _may_ have gotten myself a date with a cute doctor tomorrow night…'

Evie dropped her (thankfully empty and plastic) glass in surprise and, much like Kurt did, squealed at a pitch only meant for dogs and whales.

Blaine's hand, holding a slice of meat feast pizza, stopped in mid-air before he placed said pizza back on his plate and leaned across the table to hug me.

'Oh my god I _knew_ he'd call you, David is my oldest friend and I _know_ when he's smitten. He just would not stop talking about you earlier today. When he asked me to- OW! What did you…'

Kurt smiled suspiciously and Blaine threw a quick glare at his husband before carrying on speaking.

'Anyway, David is an awesome guy and I think you two will make a great couple.'

'Whoa, hold your horses there Blainers. We've not even been on a date yet. Which brings me to the point I raised to Kurt earlier… I know nothing about dating. I have never 'dated' before in my life. And I need some serious help.'

Kurt squeezed my hand and turned so he was able to address the entire table.

'Which means, after we've done the dishes, it's Dating 101 in the living room, attendance mandatory, okay?'

Blaine and Evie nodded before we all turned back to our food and the conversation drifted to the usual topics.

* * *

><p>'First lesson of the evening: How to act in a fancy restaurant.'<p>

I was sitting on the sofa with Ernie in my lap, whilst Kurt, Blaine and Evie were standing in front of the TV, ready to deliver my education in the art of dating.

'You said that you've never eaten in an upmarket place like the River before, and we all have, so here's a few tips to help guide you on your way.'

Kurt gestured to Blaine on his right, who scurried off to the kitchen, only to come back seconds later holding a flipboard. Yes, like they use in office presentations. I know. I don't know when they got it done either, but you kind of learn to just go with it in the Hummel-Anderson house.

Blaine set the board down in the centre of the room, before flipping over the first sheet to reveal a diagram of a plate with various pieces of cutlery. He cleared his throat before beginning to speak.

'Right, the general rule is to work from the outside in, but here are some handy pictures to help you remember which knife is for what and all that. So…'

He pointed to a picture of a knife with a sort of thick hook-like point

'This is a fish knife. To use for fish, obviously… Although you can't eat shellfish.'

I raised my eyebrows as if to say 'really? You really think I've not retained that information at some point over the past 33 weeks?' He swiftly moved on to a picture of a large, flattish spoon.

'This is a soup spoon. For soup.'

'Wow, this lecture is really informative.'

Blaine stuck his tongue out at me before continuing.

'Shush, or we'll leave you without this knowledge.'

'Okay, o' cutlery genie, please continue.'

'Thank you. Now this is a steak knife…'

* * *

><p>After my detailed lesson on how to correctly eat a portion of meat, should I so order one, Evie took over on 'General do's and don'ts in such an environment'.<p>

'You can't order a Fanta, Kim, you just _can't_'

'But why not? I can't have alcohol, and water is so boring!'

'Order a sophisticated drink, like elderflower cordial or something!'

I cast a bemused look at my exasperated best friend.

'Evie, in the fifteen years that you've known me, when have I ever ordered an 'elderflower cordial'?'

'Fine. Anything but Fanta, though, please.'

'What about sp-'

'No. Not sprite.'

* * *

><p>After a good half an hour of Evie desperately trying to make a lady out of me, Kurt took over on 'Conversational Basics'. The flipboard had long since been abandoned and turned into a platform on which Blaine and Evie were engaged in a heated hangman battle, occasionally joining in on my lesson with 'helpful' tips and reminders such as 'don't burp at the table' and 'don't pick food out of your teeth in front of him'.<p>

'Okay, you can do this bit fine Kim. I don't need to teach you how to hold a conversation. You and David are both interesting people with plenty in common and I can't imagine that you'll struggle for suitable topics. Just make sure you don't… um….'

'Let him see my crazy?'

Kurt spluttered around his mug of hot chocolate.

'You're not crazy. But you are a distinctive character. All of us in this room are. David is too. Once you know that guy like we do, he's a completely different man, but…'

'But what? I don't want to know a fake David, I want to know the real one. One of the first things you told me tonight was to just be myself. I want him to know the real me. How is a relationship that formed based on some half-hearted attempt at changing my personality going to work out?'

Blaine and Evie stopped their game, and Kurt put down his mug.

'You're ready, young padawan.'

'I _KNEW_ YOU LIKED STAR WARS! Seriously Kurt, a decade of hiding that from me, your husband? Shame on you…'

Blaine tackled his husband and they ended up engaged in a mighty tickle war on the floor. Evie and I wisely left the room, though not before hearing simultaneous moans and the growl of a disgruntled pug whose comfy blanket nest had been messed up by two horny men.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Kurt and Blaine emerged from the master bedroom with epic bed hair and a plan.<p>

'Right, the River's dress code states 'smart casual', which we're taking to mean a nice knee length dress and, well, I'd normally say heels but your centre of gravity is way too off for that, so we'll go with some cute flats. I think we should hit Molly Monroe first, we'll probably find the right outfit there, and then get on down to the salon?'

Evie and I nodded our agreement, and the four of us piled into Kurt's Range Rover and set off for Molly Monroe, the leading maternity boutique in North London. We arrived at the shop and I was immediately impressed. I'd heard of Molly Monroe, most people had, but I'd never been or had any reason to pass by the place.

It was tiny from the outside, just one window draped in lace curtains with the swirling signature of the designer signifying that you were in the right place. But as soon as you stepped through the door, it seemed to open up into a huge room decked in fashionable pastel colours and plush furnishings, with rows upon rows of only the most sought after maternity wear. I knew it was no good to argue that I couldn't afford clothes from a place like that, because Kurt and Blaine would just shush me and tell me to stop being silly because they were paying.

I scanned the rails as Kurt and Evie went around picking dresses up left, right and centre for me to try on. Blaine came up behind me and placed his chin on my shoulder when he saw that I was looking in an ornately framed mirror.

'What'cha thinking about?'

I sighed and placed my hands on my stomach.

'Just wondering what this little girl is going to look like, is all. I hope she looks more like you.'

Blaine laughed and stood up straight next to me, both of us looking at our reflections.

'Well. I hope she doesn't have my hair. Poor kid wouldn't know what to do with it, I know I don't most of the time, and the times I do it's only because I have Kurt to help me.'

'I love your curls, I hope she does have them. Besides, you'll both be there to help her out.'

He sighed wistfully at the thought.

'I suppose we will.'

We looked a little longer before Kurt's voice rang out across the shop floor.

'Kim! Come and try these on, we haven't got all day!'

Blaine and I walked over to the changing rooms, where Kurt and Evie were both weighed down with dresses of all sorts of styles and colours.

'Right, get in there missy, we haven't got the time to be messing around!'

A couple of outfits were thrust into my arms and I was shooed into the fitting room. Deciding that I wasn't going to get away with having a short sit-down on the comfy looking armchair in the room with me, I just got on with trying on the clothes.

I paraded around outfit after outfit in front of my three-strong judging panel.

'No, that colour doesn't work well with your skin tone at all…'

'Makes your boobs look way too big.'

'No, it's a little bit too long…'

After about an hour, I was tired and my critics were getting more nonsensical with their reviews.

'The neckline is too thick…'

I gave a puzzled look to Kurt (the giver of the remark) and turned to look in the mirror. It was one of the better dresses I'd tried on.

'The neckline is too thick? What on earth does that mean?'

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

'I don't even know. It's just not right. Ugh, you've got one dress left, then we can go and get a coffee and think of a new plan.'

I liked this new plan, so I waddled into the changing room to put on the last dress; a dark blue knee-length wrap dress. Incredibly simple and elegant. As I tied the sash and looked at myself, I knew that it was the right one to buy.

It seemed that my judges thought so too.

'Oh wow…'

'Kimmy you look so beautiful!'

'Okay, that neckline is the perfect thickness.'

I grinned at their approval and hurried to change out of it so we could continue with our day. At least I knew that I'd look good on my date, even if the rest of it was an absolute trainwreck.

* * *

><p>'Okay, so what was your first date like then?'<p>

We were in Kurt's salon of choice, me primping for my date and the other three just beautifying for fun. The question popped into my mind just as Ingrid, 'the best stylist in all of London' according to Kurt, was coiling my long hair into rollers, and I couldn't believe I'd never asked before.

As soon as the sentence left my mouth, Kurt and Blaine turned to look at one another and blushed deeply. Evie and I laughed at their faces before Blaine began.

'Okay, so you have to know that small town Ohio wasn't exactly the most gay friendly place. We didn't want to risk going out to one of the very few restaurants in the town because we'd most likely have been harassed. So I, being head over heels crazy for a certain Mr Hummel, decided that we weren't just going to condemn our first date to holding hands in the back of a dark cinema where nobody could see us. I wanted to do something spectacular and romantic. Kurt had been waiting for me long enough.'

Kurt sighed and reached over to squeeze his husbands hand before continuing the story.

'You were worth it, B. Anyway, he comes to pick me up from my house. My dad does the whole 'you-hurt-my-son-and-I'll-make-sure-you'll-never-be-able-to-procreate' act, gives me a reasonable midnight curfew and sends us on our way. I was immediately confused, Anderson here didn't tell me _anything_ about this date, I had no idea where we were going. We started heading out of Lima, and he still wouldn't give anything up about the location, so I just put the radio on and relaxed. I trusted him. After about thirty minutes, we turn into this narrow road into some woods. I'm freaking out by this point, having all sorts of Blair Witch style scenarios running through my head, but like I said, I trusted him, so I kept quiet.

We eventually pull into this parking lot; completely dark and deserted. I finally start panicking out loud-'

'And I just hug him, and reassure him that it's all going to be fine.' Blaine cuts in, 'Then I pull out this completely cliché wicker basket from my trunk and his face immediately lights up.'

'Of course it did. He takes my hand and pulls me down this path through the woods that I didn't notice before. After about five minutes we reach… Well, we reach the most beautiful sight that my young eyes had ever seen. There was just like this lake, completely still, a little beach, and the woods surrounding it… It was incredible. And so, _so_ romantic. I couldn't believe I'd snagged the perfect guy.'

At this point, they both stopped the story to just sort of look at each other lovingly. Evie and I, as well as Ingrid and the four salon assistants working on our pedicures, were on the edge of our seats, anticipating the next part of this utterly romantic tale.

After a few seconds of staring into each other's eyes, Kurt breaks the contact to continue.

'So he gets this red and white gingham blanket out of the basket, and I laugh at the cliché-ness, and he sets it on the sand and pulls out all these candles in little glass holders and anchors them in the ground all around us, and we eat gorgeous food by moon and candle and starlight.'

Forget just us, everyone in the small salon has started listening at this point, and everyone took a deep wistful sigh at the same time. But then Blaine coughed.

'Unfortunately, that is not the end of our story… We had the perfect evening. For about twenty minutes…'

Kurt giggled at the memory, and Blaine rubbed his forehead in an embarrassed manner.

'B, honey, don't be embarrassed. You couldn't have known. And looking back, it's kind of funny…'

Kurt squeezed Blaine's shoulder before carrying on.

'Well, as he said, we had the perfect evening. For a little while. And then all of a sudden we hear rustling in the trees. It more than you could've expected from Ohio's woodland creatures, so we were a bit on edge. And then we heard the voices. Not the deep masculine voices of a gang of homophobic Lima citizens like we feared, but children's voices. And then, the first one comes running through the tree line onto the beach.'

'First what?', Evie thought to say.

'Girl scout' admitted Blaine in a small voice.

We all looked puzzled, but Kurt explained.

'Oh yes. Girl scouts. About forty of them, with their leaders. To set up camp on our romantic beach.'

Blaine groaned then, and Kurt leaned over to give him a short but comforting massage.

'It was their annual weekend away or something. They didn't advertise the location, Blaine couldn't have known. But they swarmed in, ran around, all excited and shouting. They ignored us for the most part, except that girl who stole the chocolate mousse…'

Blaine recovered enough to simply groan again and mumble something about how he'd gone all the way to Westerville to get Kurt's favourite mousse.

'The leaders came over to us then. They all looked very apologetic, but said that they had booked the area out, and if Blaine hadn't then our picnic was technically trespassing. They shooed the girls down to the other end of the beach to give us a few minutes to pack away, so we did, and we went back to the car. Blaine drove me home in silence, and my dad was very surprised to find me home after an hour and a half, well in time for curfew. Then Blaine didn't call me until the weekend was nearly over because he was so embarrassed…'

Everyone who had listened to the story was now either laughing or in silent sympathy for Blaine, who was bright red at the memory of his teenage mistake.

'He let me organise the next few dates until he regained his confidence. And it worked. We were never interrupted by children's extracurricular activity groups ever again!'

Everyone laughed loudly, and Kurt leaned in to kiss Blaine full on the mouth, to a round of applause from the hooked clientele of Ingrid's salon.

Ingrid herself bustled over a few minutes later.

'Alright boys, enough with the lip locking, we haven't got all day, and I have to get Cinderella ready to go to the ball!'

* * *

><p>A few hours later, and I was standing in front of Evie, who was fiddling with final adjustments to my outfit. Kurt and Blaine had taken off on an impromptu date of their own, most likely due to the fact that they couldn't keep their hands off of each other after the salon debacle, and David was due to arrive any minute.<p>

'Right, now try not to snag your tights on anything, ladders are not going to be easy to fix when you can't bend down to do it. Oh, and remember to ask if there's raw eggs in anything, you can never be too careful. And-'

'Evie?'

She looked up from where she was helping me put on my shoe. I could see tears in her eyes.

'Oh Evie, why on earth are you crying?'

She stood up and wiped her eyes hastily with the sleeve of her jumper.

'I'm not, I've just got something in my eye, like a twig, or a branch or something…'

I raised a sceptical eyebrow at her, and she buckled.

'Fine! Fine, I'm crying because, and this is going to sound ridiculous because we're twenty five and you're a doctor and I'm a lawyer and we're meant to have done this already, but oh my god Kim we're growing up. You're going on a date with a guy who might actually be good for you, and you're probably going to end up marrying him or something, and you're about to pop out a kid, and you'll be starting teacher training in March and I just got that promotion which means I'm a _proper_ solicitor now and, well… I've met someone too.'

I squealed and launched myself into her arms.

'Oh my god Evie! This is great! Oh wow, what's his name? Where did you meet? How long have you been seeing each other? Why didn't you tell me sooner?'

'Slow down. His name is Tom, and it hasn't been long, don't worry. He's a newbie at work, and he's been in some of my meetings, and we've been out for coffee a few times, and he's asked me out to dinner next week.'

'Oh Evie, that's incredible!'

I embraced her tightly, and she wrapped her slender arms around me (only just fitting all the way around due to the bump). After a few seconds, she pulled away.

'But that's it Kim. We're growing up now. We're going to end up with people. In committed, long term, adult relationships. Maybe we'll marry David and Tom. Maybe we won't. But we aren't going to live together for much longer. We aren't going to be Kim and Evie anymore. Not really. We're going to have jobs and children and mortgages. It's not going to be the same anymore.'

She burst into a new set of tears, and I ran to grab a box of Kleenex before looking at her in the eyes and answering.

'Yes, we're growing up. But it's not a bad thing. We may get husbands and babies and dogs-'

Ernie growled at our feet,

'No dogs, okay then. But we'll _always_ be Kim and Evie. Always. Just with families and stuff. And we both have a little more time before any of that happens. So please stop crying, because I'm crying and David should be here any second and I need to retouch my make up.'

Evie giggled, and continued to wipe her eyes with the tissues whilst I, in true pregnant lady fashion, waddled off to the bathroom to calm down. Just as I closed the door, the doorbell rang, and I heard Evie let David in. After a couple of minor alterations to my make up, I was ready, and emerged from the bathroom to join them back in the hall.

David saw me first and grinned at my appearance.

'You look beautiful Kim. You really do.'

I blushed happily, and Evie winked at me behind David's back.

'Thank you, David. Erm, shall we go?'

He nodded in the affirmative and helped me into my coat. Just as we were about to leave, Evie kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear

'_It'll be great Kim. Save me the maid of honour spot won't you?'_

I punched her lightly in the arm before following David into the lift.

* * *

><p>We arrived at the restaurant a good ten minutes before our reservation, but the minute the maitre'd took a look at my stomach we were hurried to a table in the corner of the room, nicely private and secluded. Before we got a chance to order, a young waiter came over to take our drinks order.<p>

'Ah, I'll have a glass of the house chardonnay, if you don't mind Kim?'

I paused in my frantic search of the drinks menu of something non-alcoholic but classy to reply.

'Oh no, no, that's fine.'

The waiter nodded, 'And for you ma'am?'

As much as I wanted to throttle him for the ma'am (I've never been called ma'am in my life, I'm 25!), I simply smiled genteelly.

'A sparking water please.'

Yes, I caved. Water. Tasteless and boring. No Fanta for me.

The conversation flowed smoothtly and effortlessly, but I couldn't help but feel intimidated and stifled by the atmosphere in which we were meant to be enjoying ourselves. After our ordered food had arrived, pork belly for David and chicken for me, we segued into the topic of the restaurant itself.

'So, have you ever been here before?'

I laughed before I could stop myself, and faced David's puzzled expression.

'Sorry, oh god, sorry. No, I haven't been here before. I've never been anywhere like here before. It's not my usual thing.'

I caught a glimpse of a frown on his face, and hurried to continue,

'Not that it's bad! It's lovely! I swear, I'm having a great time, it's just not my-'

'Usual thing?'

'Yeh…'

I let my eyes drop to the table, convinced that I had made a fool out of myself, before David leaned over and squeezed my shoulder.

'Look, I'm going to be honest with you. It's not my usual thing either. I may be a doctor, but I'm still fairly junior. I'm not a stinking rich consultant yet. I'm more of a Pizza Express kind of guy, to be honest…'

I giggled at his admission, and his smile could've lit up the entire room, high art deco ceilings and all.

'Yeh? Well, lucky for you, I'm a Pizza Express kind of girl.'

We'd finished our meals by now, so David signalled for a waiter.

'So, considering this isn't Pizza Express in any way, shape or form, how about we get out of here? I know a great ice cream place?'

I waited until our plates had been taken away before replying.

'Well, I'm definitely up for that. Lead the way, good sir!'

* * *

><p>David paid the bill, rebuffing my arguments about the sky high prices, before we left the restaurant. It was snowy outside, but the pavements were gritted and I felt safe as I walked along next to him, on our way to the promised ice cream parlour.<p>

'So, did you go to medical school here?'

David nodded,

'Yeh. My mum is British, so I have dual citizenship. I always wanted to be a doctor back in school in America, but I much preferred the British training method. My parents divorced when I was young, so I moved to London to be with my mum and started medical school at Barts. Thought I'd go back to the US once I was finished, but I fell in love with the city and the country. And then my best friend and his husband moved over here, and I can't imagine ever leaving.'

He nudged my arm as he said the final line, and I shivered.

'Oh god, are you cold? Jesus…'

He unwrapped his scarf from around his neck and draped it across my shoulders, before then putting his arm around me. I hoped that he couldn't see my adolescent style blush under the streetlamps.

We walked in silence for a while, just enjoying the company, before we reached the ice cream place. As soon as we stepped inside, the owner embraced David tightly.

'Well David, long time no see!'

'Well, I could never stay away for too long Pete. The ice cream is too good.'

Pete, as David had indicated, scoffed before turning to me. If he noticed the bump (which he really should've), he didn't mention it.

'And David, been keeping this lovely young woman from me have you? If I wasn't a happily married man, I'd have snapped you up long ago my dear.'

'Pete, you're 62. You've been married for 35 years. Let some of the young ones catch a break, eh?'

Pete hugged me swiftly and then moved behind the counter.

'So what'll it be, lovebirds?'

* * *

><p>Considering that it was a nice night and not too long a walk, David walked me home, eating our ice creams on the way. After a little while of laughing and small talk, he shyly took my hand. Well, as shyly as a twenty eight year old man can take a woman's hand, anyway.<p>

We walked the rest of the way with our hands clasped between us, never once running out of things to say. It was nice to have someone like that. Mark had been a terrible conversationalist, especially in the final months of our relationship.

When we reached the door, I handed back his scarf.

'Thank you, for tonight. It was lovely.'

He tied the scarf back around his neck.

'Are you sure? I mean, it wasn't too… I don't know, stifling?'

'No', I shook my head, 'It was wonderful. So thank you.'

We said our goodbyes, which were surprisingly un-awkward, and he left, not before kissing me on the cheek and arranging to call me the next day.

* * *

><p>I floated to my room on a high of a successful first date, and snuggled down into bed. After a few moments of trying to force myself to sleep, I heard the door open and Kurt and Blaine walk in. The footsteps got quieter as they walked down the hallway, but then they stopped just far away enough that I could still hear their conversation.<p>

'You got the reservations for David, didn't you?'

'Yes. He called me _so_ excited about this date. He really likes Kim. And, well…'

'Well what, B?'

'I didn't want their first date to be a disaster…'

Kurt chuckled, and I heard the sound of a kiss.

'It wouldn't have been. And anyway, who's to say disastrous first dates are a bad thing? Look where ours got us.'

I could almost hear Blaine's grin in his voice.

'Yeh. I wouldn't change us for the world.'

'Me neither, baby. Now let's go to bed. I _need_ to be awake enough to get all the details from Kim in the morning!'

They closed the door to their bedroom and silence overtook the flat once more.

David and I may not have had a disastrous first date like Kurt and Blaine, but I _really_ hoped we could have the same happy ending

* * *

><p><strong>So, there you have it. Nearly 6000 words of filler. But I did like this chapter. Next up we have Christmas! Yay! It will include Mr Miller, some bittersweet news for Kim, Burt Hummel the greatest dad alive, Hudmel fun and some family Finchel. Oh, and some BlaineKim bonding. Because there's one subject with which they can both relate, and it isn't a nice one. But it will be a nice chapter. Because I shall never leave you with angst. Pinky swear.**


	14. Snowmen and Surprises

**Hello hello hello! Two weeks between updates isn't too bad for me, I think :P Anyway, this is the 'Christmas' chapter. It turned out a lot more serious than I ever expected, but I promised that I'd never leave you with angst, and I haven't, just some heavy conversations is all.**

**Also, if you've never heard of the use of 'old girl' as a term of endearment, which I have been informed some people haven't, just letting you know that it's all good. My granddad used to call me it and I imagine Kim's dad as being very similar to him.**

**Please please please please review. Seriously. Please.**

******Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.******

* * *

><p>I bloody love Christmas. It's always been my favourite time of the year. There's something about the twinkly lights and the smell of cinnamon and chestnuts that makes my soul fizz with contentment. Living with Evie has never been difficult around the festive season because she loves it just as much as I do, and thank god that Kurt and Blaine did too, because I really needed some Christmas cheer that year.<p>

* * *

><p>'Blaine, you know I love you, but seriously? That sweater is the most atrocious thing I've ever seen.'<p>

Kurt and I were baking sugar cookies for my father's imminent visit when Blaine walked into the kitchen. He was dressed fairly normally in dark designer jeans with his curls loose around his ears, but you'd never notice that the jeans were Hugo Boss when his upper body was covered with a bright red jumper with a snowman on it, a la Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones' Diary.

'What? Christmas is in five days, I'm allowed to wear this.'

Kurt raised an eyebrow at his husband's defensive tone and stared into his eyes. I could see Blaine's resistance crumbling slightly, but he stood strong (stronger than I ever have under Kurt's powerful glares, but he does have way more practice).

'No! No, you can't wear me down this time. No. I'm wearing the sweater. It's festive.'

Kurt held his gaze for a few more seconds before sighing and turning back to the mixing bowl.

'Fine, wear it. But no sex until after Boxing Day if you do…'

It took a mere couple of nanoseconds before Blaine was simultaneously tugging the jumper off and running to their bedroom, stumbling over Ernie (wearing a lovely Kurt-approved Christmas jumper of his own) in his haste to change.

Kurt laughed at his husband's antics before reaching down to put a tray of biscuits into the oven.

'He's bought a new Christmas sweater every year that we've been together. I never let him wear them, but I think he just likes my initial look of shock when he comes out with various knitted winter-themed pictures emblazoned across his chest. This year's snowman is relatively tame compared to last year's nativity scene. Looked like two of the wise men were a lot more than travel companions…'

Blaine returned to the room wearing a plain dark green shirt and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist from behind before tutting loudly.

'Honestly Kurt, that sweater was knitted by my half-blind great-aunt, it was a miracle that the baby Jesus was even present in the scene and not replaced by a farm animal.'

Kurt laughed and Blaine grinned like a fool before leaning over his shoulder to kiss Kurt on the cheek. I smiled at them before hitting Blaine on the back of the hand with a wooden spoon.

'Okay, enough with the sickening coupley-ness, Evie is going to be here with my dad in like, ten minutes, and it's going to take me that long to waddle to the living room.'

I was only joking a little bit. My pregnant lady waddle was in full force and I couldn't believe how much the bump had grown in the space of a few weeks. My centre of gravity was completely off and I spent most of my days sitting or lying down somewhere in the flat, save for dates with David (of which you'll be happy to learn that there had been a few, and that yes, we had kissed, and yes Kurt, it was wonderful and lovely and romantic aside from the fact that his pager went off and he had to rush into work) and outings to the shops to keep me from going completely insane.

So Kurt unravelled himself from Blaine's embrace to ice the latest batch of cookies whilst Blaine helped me to the living room.

* * *

><p>As soon as I flopped down onto the sofa, the reality of the situation hit me. I hadn't seen the man who raised me since the woman who was supposed to be my mother had called me a whore and walked out of my life for no good reason. That had been four months ago, when the autumn leaves still crunched under your feet everywhere you went and I could still see my toes. Of course I'd talked to him since, on the phone and on skype, and he assured me that he loved me and that he'd tried to bring my mother around, but it'd been <em>four months<em> and I'd heard no word from her. It was a long time, and a big thing to deal with when you're a hormonal emotional wreck.

I took a deep breath and tried to stave off the tears that were threatening to break free, before warm arms wrapped around my shoulders and a strong but gentle hand started stroking my hair comfortingly.

'It's okay Kim, it's okay. I know, I know it's hard, but it'll be alright, I promise.'

I looked up into sympathy filled hazel eyes, before shuddering with the effort of not crying and dropping my head onto Blaine's shoulder.

'I don't know what to do Blaine' I mumbled into his shirt, 'What if she never wants me back? I'm her daughter. She's meant to love me unconditionally and she threw me away over this?'

'For willingly sabotaging her relationship with you, she is the stupidest woman in the world Kim. I promise you that. She doesn't deserve an amazing daughter like you. I can only hope that our daughter is like you, because I don't think I could ever be prouder of her if she were. I'm proud of you Kim, both me and Kurt, and Evie and David and especially your dad. He sees that you're perfect. If your mom doesn't then she isn't worth your energy or your tears.'

He nudged my head up to face him and wiped my eyes with a tissue.

'I promise you that it'll be okay Kim. I know it's hard but you have so many people who love you. You'll be fine, okay?'

He tapped the end of my nose before walking back to the kitchen to join Kurt, where I heard unintelligible murmuring in low voices. Before I had time to dwell on the expression that'd been on Blaine's face during our conversation (a mixture of determination, hurt and anger), I heard Ernie barking at the noise from outside the front door, before Evie burst in, pulling my dad by the arm and proclaiming 'I'm hoooooooOOOOOOOME!'

I didn't bother to try and get off the couch, but I heard Kurt and Blaine greeting my father formally out in the hallway with many 'It's so nice you could come Mr Miller' and 'No Mr Miller, let me take your coat, you can put the presents under the tree in the sitting room' style hello's. After a few seconds, the door to the living room opened and my dad walked in behind Kurt, Blaine and Evie.

He didn't notice me at first, being rather too astounded at Kurt's spectacular Christmas decorations (including pinecone garlands and fairy lights everywhere, as well as the stupendous 7ft tall pine tree in the corner of the room, glistening with beautiful red and gold ornaments), but as soon as he'd taken inventory of all the splendour his eyes fell on me and a huge beaming grin came across his face.

'Oh Kim…'

He strode across the room and hauled me up in a display of very un-Greg Miller-esque strength to wrap me in one of those hugs that only dads can give that make you feel completely safe down to the core. I inhaled the scent of his cologne and Werthers Originals and let the tears I'd never shed from the earlier conversation slide down my cheeks and onto his (thankfully not Christmas-themed) jumper.

'I'm so glad you're here dad…'

He pulled back from the hug and stepped back from me.

'I'm glad I'm here too, I really am. I've spent far _far_ too long without seeing my amazing daughter in front of me.'

His gaze dropped to my belly and he smiled.

'Oh wow Kim, you haven't half gotten big!'

I adopted a hurt look and punched him lightly on the arm before his expression turned worried.

'No, no, I didn't mean fat, I mean, you're pregnant, you're going to be-'

I cut him off with an amused 'Dad!'

He stopped babbling abruptly.

'Yes..?'

'I know what you meant. Calm down, I was only joking with you!'

His features melted back into their happy, relieved norm and he hugged me again.

'You don't know how much I have missed you, old girl.'

'Yeh I do. I've missed you that much too.'

'Well, I'm here now. So let's enjoy ourselves, shall we?'

* * *

><p>Evie and my dad had always gotten along swimmingly, and Kurt and Blaine had no trouble charming him into loving them, so the evening went perfectly. Kurt and Evie had prepared a gorgeous lasagne for dinner (mine and my dad's favourite) and a stack of homemade profiteroles for dessert, so we were all pleasantly full and happy by the time my father reluctantly said that he had to leave.<p>

'I don't want to leave you Kimmy, but you know as well as I do that driving down the back lanes of Shropshire at night is never a particularly good idea. And besides, I'll miss my train if I don't get going soon.'

I sighed and hugged him as tight as I could considering the almost fully grown newborn in the way.

'I know dad, I'm just going to miss you.'

He sighed, and kissed my forehead before turning to Kurt, Blaine and Evie.

'I know it's your house and all, but I need to speak to Kim alone for a little bit, if that's okay?'

They all nodded and headed out of the room. I thought I saw a strange look on Blaine's face, but my dad coughed and I put it to the back of my mind to pay attention to him.

'Okay Kimmy, I have something to tell you, okay?'

I noticed him wringing his hands together. I know my father well, and I know he only does that when's he's nervous or has bad news, so I gestured hesitantly for him to continue speaking.

'Dad…' I began, 'Just get it over with. Tell me.'

He heaved a huge sigh and dropped his gaze to the floor to avoid looking at me.

'Your mother and I are getting divorced.'

I inhaled sharply and for the next few moments all the sound in the room evaporated until all I could hear was the thud of my own heart in my ears. Despite common sense screaming at me from a dark corner of my brain, all I could think was _'oh god, I've ruined my parents 35 year marriage. Everything has ended and it's all my fault'._

'Kim, I can practically hear the cogs whirring in your head. Please look at me and listen very carefully.'

I raised my head and looked my father in the eyes. I couldn't see blame or anger in his gaze, just sadness. It hurt even more than I thought it could've.

'This is _not_ your fault. You hear me Kimberley? Nowhere near your fault. Elaine and I have been having problems for ages. Since… Well, to be frank, since you moved out to go to university and never came back. The cracks started to show and we realised that we were only really together for you and Claire. The only reason we've stayed married these past seven years is because we barely see each other. It just isn't worth it anymore. And she… Um…'

'She what, dad? Just tell me, please. I'm twenty five, I can handle it.'

He rubbed his face with his hand in a weary gesture.

'She said some awful things, Kim. She said horrible things to you, and about you. And if she was going to act that way to the child that she brought into this world and raised and loved for all these years, I knew that she was no longer the Elaine that I fell in love with. So I finally ended it. I live in the town now, got a nice terraced house. Your mum's keeping the farmhouse.'

'I… Oh.'

He leaned over and hugged me again.

'I'm so sorry that I have to go and leave you like this. I wish I could stay, but-'

'But you'll miss your train and you have to go to work tomorrow, I know, dad. When will I see you again?'

'I don't know Kim.' He replied truthfully, 'I really don't know. But I promise it won't be in four months. I'll never leave you for that long again if I can help it. Now, come and give your old man a proper hug goodbye.'

We embraced for a good few minutes before he went into the hallway to grab his things and say goodbye to Kurt, Blaine and Evie.

'You all keep an eye on my girl, you hear me? Her sister was always her mother's daughter, but Kim is… Kim is _my_ daughter. She has any trouble and you'll be answering directly to me, understand?'

They all nodded dutifully at his order and he looked to me.

'I'm going to be wanting to meet this David chap when I come down next, alright? Make sure he's good enough for you, not like that Mark. Got it?'

I agreed through my tears and he headed for the door.

'Goodbye old girl. I'll see you soon.'

And he was gone. And then I burst into tears. Ladylike, dignified tears, of course.

Kurt and Evie rushed over first, wrapping their arms around me and making comforting cooing noises. But I noticed Blaine had hung back, and I knew he was the only person I could talk to. I caught his eye and gestured to my two personal limpets.

'Okay, I think Kim needs some time guys. Evie, Kurt, why don't you take Ernie for a walk, he hasn't gone out today.'

Just as Kurt was about to protest, Blaine fixed him with one of those 'only you will understand what I'm trying to say here' looks that they share pretty often. Kurt nodded sharply and pulled Evie off to get coats and boots, whilst mumbling about telling her what's going on later.

* * *

><p>Before I could dwell too long on the very loaded silent exchange between him and Kurt, Blaine has tugged me into the living room once more and pushed me lightly to sit on the sofa before taking a seat opposite me.<p>

'How much do you know about my family Kim?'

I was about to give an easy answer when I realised that I didn't have one. I'd met his brother Cooper and his family, but never heard anything about Blaine's parents or upbringing. They weren't in any pictures and I'd never known him to call or email them.

'Not much, apparently…'

I could see the thoughts dancing behind Blaine's expressive eyes. He seemed to hit a bad one and he grimaced.

'Okay. Well, put it this way. I know what is going through your mind right now. I know that you're thinking that you can't possibly be worth very much because how could your own mother leave you if you were, and did she ever love you in the first place if it's that easy for her to let you go? And you're convinced that it's your fault that your parents are separating because if you hadn't done this then they could still be happy. Am I right?'

I nodded speechlessly, and Blaine seemed to come to a decision. He ran his hand through his curls and sighed before continuing.

'I came out when I was thirteen. Coop wasn't there, he's ten years older than me, he lived in Columbus at the time working at a newspaper. He was the golden boy, handsome, smart, steady girlfriend, went to Yale. The perfect son in every way. I should've resented him, but I loved him, looked up to him.

Anyway, he wasn't there that night. We'd just finished dinner, and I decided to just do it, get it over with, quick and painless like ripping off a band-aid. So I just said it. I just stood up and said 'Mom, dad? I'm gay.'

He heaved a great shuddering breath, and I reached over to place my hand on his shoulder. As soon as I did he grasped it like a lifeline.

'They didn't say a word. They just got up and walked out of the room. I heard them screaming at each other that night. I don't like to dwell on what they said. The next morning they pretended like it had never happened.

They did that for years. My 'little problem' was just something to be swept under the rug and ignored. They asked me about girls all the time, turned away when I reminded them that it was boys I was interested in instead. After the Sadie Hawkins incident I thought they may realise that I was still their son, that they should still love me, but they didn't, not really. They shipped me off to Dalton. I boarded there, and at the weekends I escaped to either Cooper's up in Columbus or my grandparents in Westerville. I technically still lived with them, but I was rarely there. My grandparents set up a room for me in their house and raised me better than they ever did.

When I met Kurt, I did the dutiful thing and introduced him to them but I could never put him through trying to forge a relationship with them. Coop and grandma and granddad loved him immediately though, and I was accepted by Kurt's family too.

As soon as I graduated I joined Kurt in New York and that was that. My parents have never tried to keep in contact, ignored the invitations to our engagement party and wedding that we sent them.

I heard from Cooper a few years back that they got a divorce, stating that the relationship had become 'strained'. I was convinced it was my fault for a long time.

But it's not my fault. It never was. This was their choice. We sent my mother an ultrasound of the baby but we never heard back. It's not like we expected her to. My parents are not my family. I have family who love me, it just took me a while to find them.'

He raised an eyebrow as if to say 'do you know what I'm getting at here?', and I laughed.

'Yes, yes, I know. I have my dad, and my sister on some occasions, and I have Evie and you and Kurt and hopefully I'll have David. It's all good.'

'No', he said truthfully, 'it's not all good. But at the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy, it gets better. A lot better.'

He grinned and we leaned in to hug each other. As Blaine got up to go make a cup of tea, I thought of a question.

'Where are your grandparents?'

His shoulders sagged minutely, before he turned to me with a small smile.

'They died five years ago in a car accident. They were married for over fifty years. You know how Kurt wears his mother's wedding ring on a chain?'

I nodded.

'He wears my grandmother's wedding ring on his finger. I wear my grandfathers. They were one of the few personal bequests in their will, and it just seemed right when we got married to use them. Fifty years of good fortune on our fingers was the perfect way to start our marriage.'

I choked back a new round of tears (happy ones this time) and Blaine left the room.

* * *

><p>After the high level of emotional turmoil of the past few days, the arrival of Christmas eve and the Hudson-Hummel clan was very welcome. Kurt had gone mad, decorating the apartment even more and cooking up a storm in preparation for the big Christmas day meal. He'd just slid a new batch of mince pies into the oven (and wrestled Ernie into a santa hat) when we were all interrupted by a loud knock at the door, followed by an exclamation of 'Uncle Kurty let me in I need to show you my picture!'<p>

Kurt laughed at the sound of his nephew and as soon as he opened the door, a small bundle of brown hair and woolly jumper leapt into his arms.

'UNCLE KURTY! I drew a picture on the plane and it's of you and Uncle Bane and your baby!'

'Alex!' came a high voice from the hallway, 'let everyone else in the house before terrorising your uncles, okay?'

Kurt grinned and buried his face into Alex's soft hair to kiss him on the forehead.

'He's fine, Rach, he's just excited. It's Christmas tomorrow, can you blame him?'

Alex wriggled around excitedly in Kurt's arms before catching sight of Ernie over his uncle's shoulder.

'UNCLE KURTY YOU HAVE A DOGGY AND HE'S WEARING A HAT!'

Kurt craned his neck around to see Ernie sitting looking at the new intruders to his territory with a wary gaze.

'No Alex, that's Kim and Evie's doggy, he just lives with them here at the minute, but…' he added at Alex's suddenly forlorn face, 'I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you went and played with him for a little while?'

Permission granted from us, he put Alex on the floor. As soon as his little converse covered feet hit the ground he ran over to Ernie with a massive smile on his face and led him off to the dining room, proclaiming that he was 'the best doggy ever'.

After he'd disappeared with a bizarrely happy looking pug leading the way, the rest of the self-proclaimed 'Hudmel' family managed to get through the door, tugging two large suitcases with them. Believing that they were going to be staying at a hotel (because there certainly wasn't going to be enough room for them all to sleep comfortably in the apartment) I looked at them confusedly. Carole caught my stare and laughed.

'Oh these are just the ones with presents in, the others are all back at the hotel. We figured Kurt would want to arrange them all under the tree himself, he can be a little fussy with interior decorating.'

I laughed at her understatement

'Oh I know. Even if I wasn't huge and a safety hazard, there's no way Kurt would've let me help with the Christmas decorations. It took all of the patience Evie learned to have at law school for her not to throttle him. Blaine just has a lot of practice I think.'

Blaine entered from the kitchen carrying a plate of mince pies.

'That I do', he started, 'I barely ever get shouted at for putting the ornaments on in the wrong order anymore.'

'That's because you learned from the best, B.'

He span around to see his husband smirking, and enveloped him in a loving hug before kissing him a little too passionately for being in front of their family members. We women in the room all ignored them but a gruff cough from the corner of the room alerted me to Kurt's dad, Burt, standing with a stern look on his face. They broke away from each other and turned to him with sheepish (Kurt) and worried (Blaine) looks before Blaine started babbling.

'I'm sorry, we just-'

Burt laughed and clapped his hand onto his son-in-law's shoulder.

'I'm kidding, Blaine. This is your home. Jeez, I never thought scaring you could be this much fun after ten years of it, but it still is!'

Kurt glared at his father whilst Blaine let out a relieved sigh, and Carole playfully slapped her husband on the arm.

'Honestly Burt, leave the boys alone!'

Burt rolled his eyes and then came over to where I was standing with Evie.

'Evie, you look lovely.'

Evie batted her eyelashes jokingly.

'Why thank you sir. And you look rather debonair in that shirt. I assume it's Kurt-approved?'

'He sent me a pre-approved list of clothes I was allowed to bring, yes', he admitted reluctantly.

We all laughed whilst Burt tugged uncomfortably at his collar.

'And Kim, how are you? My sons are treating you well I hope?'

I glanced at Blaine, who had a huge smile on his face at being referred to as Burt's son, as I now knew he would.

'They have, Burt, don't worry. I couldn't have asked for better treatment. They've become rather adept at back rubs and late night trips to the shops to buy ice cream.'

Carole jerked her head up at my sentence and hurried over. It took me a few seconds to register what I'd said that could alarm her, and was reminded that she was a trained nurse and was likely to want to know all about the medical side of my pregnancy.

'Back rubs? Have you been having back pain honey?'

Her concerned motherly eyes bore into mine and I faltered a little before answering.

'Just the normal late pregnancy lower back pain. Dr Farmer says everything is normal, baby is moving downwards now and she's nearly in position for birth. He thinks I may actually have her a little earlier than my due date, which would be nice. I'm finding it kind of hard to do things at the minute, I can't imagine what it'll be like in a month…'

She sighed and pulled me into a maternal hug.

'I know it's hard, I had that problem with Finn. Unsurprisingly, he was a rather large baby. You'll probably find that she is too.'

'I don't think so, I mean, Blaine _is_ her biological father…'

'HEY!'

Just as I was about to retort, Finn and Rachel came back in, Rachel carrying a sleeping Alex in her arms.

'Hey mom, did you say something about me?'

Carole rolled her eyes.

'No Finn, don't worry, it was nothing bad', she looked at her snoring grandson, 'wow, he really crashed out cold didn't he?'

Rachel transferred him to Finn's arms carefully.

'Yeh' she replied, 'he's jet lagged and I think only the excitement of seeing Kurt and Blaine kept him awake. Now that's done and he's tired himself out playing with Ernie he needs to rest for a little while.'

Kurt told Finn to go and put Alex in the master bedroom for a nap (complete with Finn asking 'are you sure he won't find anything, you know… _inappropriate_ in there?' and Kurt whacking him around the head as hard as he could without waking his nephew) before we all retired to the living room for an evening of Chinese takeaway and board games.

After Kurt had well and truly thrashed everyone at every single game we played ('it's been a Hummel tradition for years, I always win!'), the Hudmel's left to go back to the hotel for the night and we all went off to bed, ready for whatever Santa would bring to us the next morning.

* * *

><p>'MERRY CHRIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAAAS!'<p>

I awoke abruptly as something heavy that I later identified as Ernie was dropped onto my legs and Kurt and Blaine started singing 'Merry Christmas Everybody' by Slade at the top of their voices. As they got to the second verse I reluctantly opened my eyes to see that they'd dragged Evie out of bed and all three of them were now dancing around the room in pyjama's. One look at the clock told me that it was only half past six in the morning.

'Are you joking me right now? I haven't gotten up this early on Christmas morning since I was a child!'

Kurt and Blaine stopped dancing and turned to face me with looks of horror whilst Evie just gave a resigned shrug.

'But that's the point of it Kim!' Blaine started, 'You're meant to get up early and run down the hall and open all your presents and start overeating straightaway!'

I heaved myself up into a sitting position against my pillows.

'Look, I love Christmas. But I love lie-in's too. And so does the baby. So go away and come back in a couple of hours, okay?'

Kurt smirked.

'No can do Kim. My family will be here in half an hour with an excitable toddler. You may want to wake up now instead of being slapped in the face by an irate three year old when he finds out he can't open his presents for another few hours.'

I gaped at the fact that they were willingly travelling across London to get here for 7am before sighing.

'Fine. One of you needs to come and give me a hand though, because there's no way I can navigate getting out of this bed on my own right now…'

* * *

><p>After Blaine had pulled me from my cosy blanket cavern and given me an extremely welcome cup of caffeinated tea, I emerged from the bathroom to find that the living room had been taken over by quite a lot of people and quite a lot more presents. No, scratch that. A <em>huge<em> amount of presents, all neatly wrapped in nice paper and coordinating ribbons.

Kurt clocked me standing by the door in shock and climbed over his various family members to reach me.

'Come on, come on, it's present time!'

He grabbed my hand and pulled me back the way he came before instructing me to sit down on the sofa next to Carole.

'Okay, so we generally open presents one at a time and go round in a circle, with Alex just sort of ripping all of his open when he wants because he has more than everyone else and he's a kid, so he's not exactly patient. And we all decided that you should go first!'

Before I could protest he shoved an envelope into my hand.

'That's from me and Burt honey' said Carole, 'we hope you like it.'

I raised an eyebrow because I had specifically stated earlier in the month that presents were not necessary but opened the envelope anyway to find…

'Pregnancy suitable spa day at Ragdale Hall Health Spa for two… Oh my god Carole, Burt!'

They both sat grinning as I clutched the voucher in my hand.

'We figured you needed some time to yourself to relax. It's for two, for you and Evie.'

I placed the envelope carefully on the side before leaning into Carole's open arms. I knew that Kurt had told his parents about my mother, because I'd given him specific permission to, but I didn't realise until my talk with Blaine a few days before just how much they'd understand. It felt really bloody lovely to be honest.

As I pulled away, Alex looked up from his mountain of ripped wrapping paper to exclaim that his Uncle Bane had got him the bestest thing ever and everyone would be jealous of his new football (an American football. Not a British one. Which explains why he got angry when I mistakenly called it a rugby ball) and we all paid dutiful attention to him for a little while.

* * *

><p>All the presents were exchanged and unwrapped, including a lot of baby items for Kurt and Blaine, a new fishing rod for Burt, perfume and jewellery for Carole, a karaoke machine for me and Evie, a signed copy of Barbra Streisand's autobiography for Rachel and a pile of Kurt-approved clothes for Finn ('because I don't care if you're a 28 year old man Finn, I don't trust you to not buy those horrendous puffy coats again') and we were all happily sipping early morning non-alcoholic champagne when Kurt and Blaine snuck off to their bedroom.<p>

Every adult in the room looked confusedly at each other before they both returned with massive smiles on their faces, carrying a large box wrapped in elegant white paper. They set it down in front of me before stepping back and beginning to talk.

'We know you said that you didn't want a present from us, but this isn't really a physical present that you can hold, as such' Kurt began, 'it's more of an experience…'

'And it's definitely an experience that you deserve' said Blaine, 'so open up!'

I gingerly lifted the lid off the box and leaned over to peer inside. I started pulling things out including a pretzel, a small plastic whale toy, a thick white envelope sealed with red wax and a travel guide for

'_New York_'

I choked on my own saliva in shock, as you would when presented with this sort of gift, and looked up at Kurt and Blaine with tear-filled eyes.

'I… I can't even begin to thank you…'

'We've been telling you that for months, Kim' Kurt said softly, 'we wanted to do something amazing for you too. We hope this will be.'

Blaine stroked the back of Kurt's hand with his thumb and started to explain.

'So we've booked for you and someone else to go on a trip to New York for two weeks to be taken any time in the next year. The hotel details are in there, as well as recommended things to do. The pretzel and the whale kind of point towards that. The sealed envelope contains vouchers for two tickets to see Phantom on Broadway, because we know that's your favourite show.

We want you to have an amazing experience there. Whenever Kurt and I talk about college we see how your eyes light up. So please don't tell us this is too much and that you can't take it. You're giving us our child, Kim, so let us give you this.'

Everyone seemed to sense that I wasn't going to stop crying any time soon, so after saying hushed but sincere 'thank yous' to Kurt and Blaine, and being told by Rachel that I simply had to meet up with them when I was in town and that she could get me tickets to see her in Evita too, everyone else left to go to the kitchen and have a traditional Christmas breakfast of pancakes.

Evie stopped when she got to the door and turned around to walk back over to me.

'You'll be taking David you know.'

I looked up at her smiling face.

'He's the real deal Kim. I see it in his eyes every time he comes over here. So you'll be going with him. Not any time soon, but you have a year. It'll happen. Just make sure you two take lots of pictures, okay?'

I nodded and she leaned down to kiss my forehead before going off in to the kitchen, with me following shortly after.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, when we all full from Kurt's magnificent turkey and sitting comfortably in front of the fire watching The Sound of Music, Alex decided to join me on the sofa.<p>

'Kim?' he started

'Yes?' I replied

'Are you having a baby?'

I giggled at his curious look.

'Yep.'

He looked at my stomach as if deep in thought before placing a tiny hand on my distended belly button. As if on cue, the baby started kicking right up against his palm, and he looked at me with huge eyes.

'Is that the baby? Is it okay?'

I smiled and rubbed the side of my belly

'She's fine. She must just really like her cousin, that's all.'

His eyes got even wider.

'Am I her cousin?'

'Yeh' I nodded, 'this baby is your Uncle Kurt and Uncle Blaine's baby. She's just growing in my belly until she gets big and then I'll give her back to them.'

'That's good' he replied, 'because men can't grow babies. Mommy told me that.'

'Then your mommy is very wise and clever. Just like you.'

'Yeh, she says that a lot.'

He snuggled into my side with his hand kept firmly on my stomach, as if scared that if he removed it that it would fly away of its own accord.

'I'm gonna sleep now Kim. Night baby.'

With an ease only young children ever seem to have, he fell asleep almost immediately against my stomach before Finn came over and lifted him into his arms.

'Little guy always crashes hard after a long day, and Christmas is the longest day of them all.'

I quietly agreed when I felt my eyelids becoming heavier, and it wasn't long before I bid everyone adieu myself and left them watching Maria get married and eating the divine Godiva chocolates that Burt and Carole had bought everybody.

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><p>I really shouldn't get into the habit of leaving you with these cheesy 'wrap everything up in one go' endings, because they are, for the most part, truly awful (even if I do love me some Greys Anatomy re-runs from time to time). But here is one anyway.<p>

I realised as I left that room that despite most of them not being connected by blood, they were still the closest family I'd ever met. They loved and accepted everyone for exactly who they were. So even though my mother wasn't in my life anymore, and despite the hopes I had deep inside my heart that one day she would be my mum again, I still had a family who loved me.

And family is the point of Christmas, isn't it? Well, that and eating enough to fill a medium size landfill site. Which me and the baby managed quite well together. She's probably going to be one of those adorable chubby babies that everyone loves immediately.

One month to find out anyway!

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><p><strong>Phew, that was long! Anyways, I genuinely have no idea what the next chapter will be about, but it is unfortunately the penultimate one for this story. But never fear, dear readers, as I've already informed you that there shall be multiple sequel oneshots to this and two of them are practically written already!<strong>

**Until next time, au revoir! Oh, and please review :D**


	15. Lettuce and Legalities

******A week between updates! Must be a record! This is the penultimate chapter of this fic, and aside from the final bit, is mainly a filler chapter. I'd like to thank my friend Phoebe for helping me with the plot, because I had no idea what it was going to be, to be honest. It contains David, because you seemed to like him last time, and is a lot shorter than the past few have been, I'm afraid.******

******But anyways, hope you enjoy! Please please review, they seriously make my day.******

******Also, come say hi to me on tumblr if you want, my url is sconeasincone.******

******Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be.******

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><p>'You know' said Kurt one night whilst we were eating dinner, 'you haven't introduced us to David yet.'<p>

I coughed around my mouthful of pesto-topped salmon (seriously good food at the Hummel-Anderson household) and turned to face him.

'Do you have amnesia or something? I'm going out with David, the man you've known for half of your entire life. That David, who is one of your closest friends. I do believe you've met before…'

Kurt took a sip of apple juice before continuing in a calm tone.

'Yes, we've met. But we've never met in the capacity of him being the partner of the mother of my child. I need to make sure he's good enough for you.'

'Um, Kurt? You've been friends with him for way longer than you've been friends with me. Surely you should be interrogating me to make sure that I'm good enough for him?'

He dismissed me with a wave of his hand before standing up and collecting the plates.

'Invite him over for dinner sometime this week, would you?'

I turned to Blaine to plead for potential back up, but he just shrugged and went to help his husband with the dishes.

* * *

><p>'<em>I'm sorry that I'm not here to see this, it sounds like it's going to be hilarious!'<em>

As soon as Kurt and Blaine had left for the kitchen I had snuck off to my room to call Evie. She was up in Newcastle for ten days assisting on a case, staying in the same hotel as Tom, the guy she's sort-of-maybe-kind-of-dating, and our daily evening phone calls usually consisted of me squealing over all the tiny details of their relationship that was slowly developing over room service and late night case studies. However, this time I was the one getting an earful.

'It is not going to be hilarious Evelyn Marie Carlton. It's going to be so embarrassing. They've known David for years? What the hell are they thinking?'

'_They're being protective over you because you're carrying their baby and they want to do right by you. You know, even though you've never shown any sort of maternal wanting of this baby, they're probably still terrified in the back of their minds that you'll just up and change your mind and suddenly want to become a mother. And I can tell you that there's unfortunately still very little legal precedent preventing you from doing that.'_

'But I don't want a baby for like, five years at the very least! And this is theirs, not mine!'

'_I know that, and you know that, and actually they know that, but they had such a struggle trying to have a baby before you came along, and I bet you that somewhere in their subconscious there's a voice telling them that this isn't going to work out. You know they asked me to look over the adoption papers?'_

'Yes…' I replied hesitantly

'_Well apparently they went through adoption proceedings back in New York to adopt a baby from this teenage mother. Nearly processed the entire thing before she backed out, said she wanted the kid after all. Can you imagine what that must've been like?'_

'Oh…'

'_So this may be silly, Kim. But just let them do it, okay? You have two weeks til your due date, and then you'll hand that baby over and all their unwarranted fears will dissipate and life will be grand. Until then, just let them dote on you.'_

'When did you get so smart?'

She giggled at the other end of the line.

'_I like to think it was quite a while ago. Do you think I would've got into UCL Law without at least some brains?'_

'Good point. I guess I better call David then, hadn't I?'

'_Yes, you probably should. No staying up late phone sexing with your boyfriend, you hear?'_

'EVIE!'

'_Kidding! Night Kimmy, don't let the bedbugs bite!'_

* * *

><p>The next day was one of David's rare days off call, so instead of telling him over the phone, we found ourselves strolling hand in hand through a snowy Hyde Park eating ice cream from Pete's (because it's just that good).<p>

'Kurt and Blaine want you to come over for dinner sometime this week, by the way…'

He slowed his walking pace and looked down at me with that stupidly charming grin of his.

'Sure. I'm on call every day but Friday though, if that's alright?'

'Yeh, Kurt's working from home anyway and Blaine's always back from the studio by six, so shall we say seven pm?'

He put his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head.

'Sounds great.'

We walked a little further before he stopped completely.

'There's something you're not telling me.'

I tried to protest , but he held up a finger.

'Just tell me Kim, it can't be that bad.'

I sighed heavily and dropped onto one of the few benches that were clear of snow.

'Just so you know, they may be a little… interrogatory. Is that a word?'

'Yes' he nodded, 'but why?'

'Evie says it's because they feel like they have to protect and look after me so I'll give them their baby.'

'Then I think Evie is very smart. You three have a weird sort of relationship you know?'

I could see him read my puzzled expression.

'No, not in a bad way, honey _no_. I just mean… When I was doing my foundation years I worked in the obstetrics department and I saw various surrogate births, and Nick and Jeff's son was born via surrogate. But it always seemed to be more of a business arrangement, you know? Like, the surrogate was always completely detached from the couple and the baby, and after the child was born you just knew that they'd never be in contact again, for the sake of both them and the child. You and Kurt and Blaine… You're practically family. You love this kid but you've never thought of yourself as its mother, and you've never had any qualms about giving her to Kurt and Blaine. It's like no relationship I've ever seen before. You're an incredible woman, Kim.'

I preened over the compliment for a few seconds until David poked me hard in the arm.

'Hey!' I laughed, 'that's mean!'

He rubbed my arm before pressing his lips to mine in a short, sweet, suitable for public consumption kiss.

'I guess you're right' I replied, 'I've just never thought of it as unusual, you know? It just seems completely and utterly right.'

'That's because it is', he assured me.

We sat on the bench for a few more minutes before I realised something.

'You know…' I began

He raised an eyebrow.

'You know what?'

'You called me 'honey' earlier…'

A look of alarm flashed across his face before I giggled.

'What?' he asked in an affronted tone.

'You looked so worried!'

'Well it was a bit sudden, wasn't it?'

'David, we've been us for over a month now. It may seem quick to some people, but it's fine by me.'

He smiled widely before leaning close.

'Sure it's not too fast?'

I nodded.

'Positive.'

He grinned again before navigating around the bump and closing the distance between us with a kiss.

* * *

><p>The doorbell rang to signal David's arrival whilst I was setting the table. Due to my incredibly decreased walking speed, I knew that there was no way that I'd make it to the front door before Kurt or Blaine, and so reluctantly left it to them to go and let him in. I heard the door open before the sounds of them greeting my new boyfriend (is that the word I should use?) like they usually would drifted into the kitchen. I was momentarily relieved that they were treating him as they always have but that changed as soon as they entered the dining room.<p>

David immediately came over to me when he saw me, giving me a swift hug and a light kiss before turning back to Kurt and Blaine, who were looking at him in the patented 'father meeting his daughter's boyfriend for the first time' way.

Due to the oven timer going off, neither of them said anything until we were seated at the table and tucking into the first course (red pepper soup, prepared from scratch by yours truly, thank you very much).

'So, David' Blaine began, 'what do you do for a living?'

David spluttered around his spoonful of soup and wisely set it back in the dish before speaking.

'Um, Blaine… You know what I do.'

Blaine merely raised an eyebrow at the answer, so I spoke up.

'Blaine, what are you doing?' I whisper-shouted.

'David?' asked Kurt from the seat next to his husband.

After glancing between all the occupants of the table, David seemed to decide to just go along with whatever they were doing.

'Well, I'm a first year speciality registrar in the Neurology department at University College Hospital, um, sir?'

I groaned exasperatedly into my napkin at the term while Kurt piped up.

'Sounds like a tough job, David. How easy do you think it'll be to maintain a serious relationship with such a demanding career?'

'It won't be easy' he began, 'but it'll be worth it. Kim is a remarkable person and I'll make every effort to ensure that my relationship with her isn't affected too badly by my work, and vice versa.'

Kurt nodded calmly and we all continued eating in silence before Blaine asked another question.

'So, we know that you're American, David, what keeps you in the UK?'

David smiled and squeezed my hand under the table.

'I have a dual nationality, and I much prefer the healthcare system over here. Not to mention that I have very close friends here that I like to keep in contact with too.'

Kurt and Blaine both broke character (whatever character they were playing anyway) to beam at him, but then Kurt coughed and the moment was broken.

'Well, I'm going to go get the next course' he began, standing up to collect the bowls, 'Blaine, will you come and help?'

After they had both left the room, I turned to David and groaned, burying my head in his shoulder before his hand came up to rub in between my shoulder blades comfortingly.

'I'm so _so_ sorry, I don't know what they're doing. I didn't think it would be this bad!'

He laughed as he continued to hold me.

'It's fine, Kim. They're just scoping me out as your new boyfriend. It doesn't matter how much they know me, they don't know me as your partner. At least now I have practice for when I meet your dad.'

I lifted my head up to look him in the eyes.

'Are you sure that you're okay?'

'Completely sure.'

The meal continued in the manner of which it started for a while. The questions were annoying but eventually they became less frequent and Kurt and Blaine began to resemble the men I knew again. By the time we'd finished our dessert of strawberry tart everyone was much more relaxed and at ease, and you wouldn't be able to tell that the dinner had started off so strangely.

It was after Blaine and David had finished telling a story where they had shipped their friends Wes' infamous gavel off to David's mum's house in Cornwall that Kurt explained their behaviour.

'We're sorry about earlier, David. Well, I mean, not really. We needed to just see you as Kim's prospective boyfriend rather than our friend for a little while. We know that you're good for each other now, but we just had to make sure. Are you okay with that?'

'I thought it'd be something like that' David replied, 'and it's completely fine. Needed to make sure I was good enough for your baby mama!'

We all laughed at that and when Blaine and David went off to load the dishwasher with our final plates, Kurt came and sat next to me.

'You're not mad, are you?'

I shook my head and he wrapped me in a hug.

'Don't know why I ever doubted him. You two are great together, I can promise you that.'

'I know we are. We're working out scarily well so far.'

Kurt giggled and tightened his arms around me.

'Don't question it. Just go with it, and it'll be fine.'

'Will do.'

* * *

><p>Later on in the evening, when the men had drunk some wine and I had drunk some 7up, David got up to leave. I went with him to the front door to say goodbye away from the prying eyes of the tipsy couple painting each other's fingernails in the living room (apparently a favourite drunken pastime of the two, Evie had caught them using her expensive work nail polish to do it once and went and bought them their own cheaper bottles for this very situation).<p>

'So, I shall see you soon?'

He nodded and rubbed his thumb along the back of my hand.

'Of course. I'll let you know what days I'm off next week and we can go do something then, okay?'

'Sure, we co-'

A wave of mild pain across my lower abdomen cut me off, and David must've caught my wince.

'Are you okay Kim?'

I exhaled shakily and rubbed my stomach.

'Yeh, just damn Braxton-Hicks again. They don't tell you nearly enough about pregnancy on TV shows you know. They conveniently leave out the aches and pains and indigestion and swollen ankles and stuff…'

He laughed and leant down to kiss the top of my stomach.

'Call me if you need me okay?'

'I'll be fine' I assured him, 'Evie will be back just after midnight, so I won't be alone for more than a couple of hours.'

He nodded and kissed me before leaving, and I waddled off to bed.

* * *

><p>The next morning I was not in a particularly good mood. The Braxton-Hicks had happened on and off all night, causing mild discomfort every couple of hours, and the baby was laying very inconveniently on my bladder, causing me to be up and down going to the bathroom constantly. I would've liked to stay in bed, but Evie insisted on me accompanying her, Kurt and Blaine on the weekly food shopping trip.<p>

'Come _on_ Kim, Dr Farmer says walking around is good to help the baby drop! Or something along those lines…'

'Screw Dr Farmer' I mumbled into my pillows.

'No, he's old and married and you're with David. So get the hell out of bed before I drag you out.'

After a lot of complaining and moaning about my unfair predicament, I was fed, dressed and bundled into the Range Rover for the trip to the supermarket.

We were in the salad produce aisle when Evie got a call from work that she had to go and answer and Kurt and Blaine went off to get a new bag of dog food. I was merely perusing the various types of lettuce on offer when I felt it. A ripple of pain much stronger than any of the other pains I'd had during the pregnancy, squeezing my stomach like it was in a vice, relentless and unbearably intense. I doubled over, leaning against the trolley, and began to breathe steadily against the onslaught of the contraction.

* * *

><p>Which brings us back to our beginning. Apparently they weren't Braxton-Hicks at all. I'm an idiot. An idiot in full-on-oh-god-I'm-about-to-give-birth-to-a-baby style labour. I'm standing in a supermarket aisle clutching a trolley for support and in so much pain I just want to burst into tears.<p>

Right Kim. Just… Kurt and Blaine will be back in a minute, and then they can call Dr Farmer and we can be on our way.

Just breathe through it, and it'll be fine. Until the next one. Oh god…

No, no panicking. You can do this.

Just breathe, Kim.

_Breathe._

* * *

><p><strong>So, there you have it. Kim is <em>finally<em> in labour! It's hardly a spoiler to tell you that next chapter will contain childbirth, but please bear in mind that it contains scenes of childbirth from the perspective of the woman in labour. It's not going to be overly graphic, but I will be using medical terminology and there will be parts that some people may find icky.**

**Okay, see you next time for the last chapter! Please review :D**


	16. Midwives and Miracles

**This is the final chapter of this story. I'm not going to lie, I've become so attached to this thing that there are tears running down my face as I write this. I never expected this story to be popular. It's a _very _different kind of story, and I know a lot of people are very averse to OC orientated fics, so the fact that I have any readers at all who like this story, and review and tell me that you do absolutely blows me away.**

**There are, as I've said before, some oneshots that will form a kind of sequel to this, and the first should be up fairly soon, probably in a few weeks or so. Keep this story on your alerts and I'll post in here with the link as and when they go up.**

**This chapter contains scenes of childbirth and medical terminology, as well as multiple instances of swearing. But that's kind of expected when the protagonist is giving birth...**

**It's more important for this chapter than for any of the others for me to beg you to leave a review. Just let me know what you thought of this chapter and the story as a whole, please.**

**This has been a stupidly long AN, so I'll go now, but a sincere thank you to everyone who has this story in their alerts/favourites or has reviewed over the past few months.**

**Oh, and there's a line in this that I've had written since December. See if you can guess what it is ;)**

********Disclaimer: Glee is not mine. Never has been, never will be. Neither is the NHS, the Chelsea and Westminster or The Kensington Wing.********

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><p>She's here. Actually here. A year of planning and waiting and hoping and she's here, where she was always meant to be, in her fathers' arms. Kurt and Blaine are naturals. They're the most perfect little family I've ever seen. I know that if I'd ever had the tiniest regret or worry during this ordeal, it'd be gone now. Even the most rampant homophobe couldn't possibly say that they aren't the best parents for this little girl. They were always going to be. I'm glad I saw that.<p>

But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. It wasn't easy getting her out and into the world, and for that I believe I deserve the credit. So, back we go…

* * *

><p>I was still breathing through the contraction when Kurt and Blaine returned with a monster bag of Pedigree. Unsurprisingly, it didn't take them very long to notice that something was different about me. I don't know what could've possibly given it away, it's not like I was doubled over and panting or anything…<p>

'Kim!'

Kurt shoved the heavy bag into Blaine's arms and ran the rest of the way down the aisle towards me. As soon as he reached me he wrapped an arm around my shoulders to hold me up and began with the questions.

'Are you okay? Are you in pain? Do you think you're in labour? Where does it hurt? Do you want me to fetch Evie?'

The contraction ebbed and I shakily regained my former standing position, leaning on Kurt heavily for support.

'I'm not okay, no. I'm pretty damn sure that I just had a contraction, and therefore I'm pretty damn sure that I'm in labour. I really need to _not_ be in a supermarket right now…'

Blaine had reached us by this point, and deposited the bag into the trolley before pulling out his phone. Kurt squeezed my shoulders with his strong arm around me and together we made our way to the exit, abandoning our shopping next to the cucumbers.

I could hear Blaine talking to Dr Farmer as we walked, and tried to quell the feelings of panic that were rising in my gut to answer the questions he was fielding at me.

'Yes, she's just had one. Wait a second, I'll ask… Kim, have you had any contractions before this one?'

I nodded before replying.

'I've been having pains all night, I thought they were Braxton-Hicks…'

As Blaine relayed the information to Dr Farmer, Evie came running up to us.

'Oh my god Kim, I'm so _so_ sorry for leaving, are you okay? Do you want anything?'

I shook my head as we continued walking as fast as we could to the car. Evie took my hand and squeezed when Kurt and Blaine helped me into the backseat, a motion that caused my back to scream at me in displeasure for being jostled so forcefully.

'Okay Dr Farmer, yeh, I'll tell her. Alright, see you soon.'

Blaine put the phone down and climbed in after me with Kurt, with Evie sliding into the driver's seat to await instructions.

'Right, Dr Farmer says that we need to go into the hospital when the contractions are five minutes apart and last at least one minute each, or when your waters break. Has any of that happened?'

I leaned my head against his shoulder as I tried to get myself as comfortable as possible considering the fact that I was rapidly nearing the point where I'd be pushing an infant out of a way too small hole.

'My waters haven't broken' I began, 'but that last contraction was definitely at least a minute long. If another one comes along in the next minute or so, then we need to go in. I have apparently been in labour for ten hours already…'

Kurt groaned.

'I'm so sorry we forced you out this morning' he said, 'you could've had a nice pain-relieving bath or something instead.'

I opened my mouth to assure him that I was alright, but my words were cut off when another wave of pain shot across my stomach.

I managed to grunt out 'I think we need to go to the hospital' before Evie deftly reversed out of the parking space and began driving at the edge of the speed limit to get us home, whilst Blaine and Kurt gripped my hands and rubbed my back soothingly.

After a while, I couldn't tell you exactly how long, but I know I had at least two contractions in the time, we pulled into the car park for the apartment building.

'We'll make a quick stop here first. Blaine is going to run in and grab your suitcase and your notes, and then we'll get to the hospital, okay? You'll be fine, Kim, I promise.'

I nodded against Kurt's shoulder and sighed in relief as another contraction ended.

'I can tell that this isn't going to be particularly fun for me…'

'I think' he replied, 'that that is a severe understatement.'

I felt a drop of moisture fall onto my forehead and looked up to find tears making tracks down Kurt's face.

'Why the hell are you crying?'

'It's just…' he sighed, 'you're going to hate us after this. It's going to be horrid and you'll never want to see us again, I know it.'

I rolled my eyes and heaved myself up to lock my gaze with his.

'Yes, it's going to be horrid. I'm going to cry and scream and shout and beg for it to be over. I'm allowed to do that. I'm allowed to do and say whatever I want during this, because I'm the one pushing a kid out of my vagina…'

However serious the conversation, Kurt could never suppress a grimace at that word. It made me giggle before I carried on.

'But, I'm never going to hate you Kurt. I knew what I was getting myself into. I know this is going to be horrible. But at the end of it, I'm giving you and Blaine the best gift I could ever give you. I'm never going to regret it, okay?'

As I reached up and wiped away his tears with my hand, Blaine opened the car door and shuffled back in with my bright purple overnight bag in his grip.

'Okay folks', called Evie from the front seat, 'let's get this show on the road!'

* * *

><p>We arrived at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in record time (I suspect speeding was involved in this) and I was gratefully deposited in a wheelchair before we made our way to The Kensington Wing, the private maternity section of the hospital.<p>

Kurt and Blaine had insisted right from the beginning that all my antenatal and postnatal care would be through the private healthcare system and that they would pay for absolutely everything. Usually I would argue this, considering that I have been cared for by the NHS for years with no problems, but the arguments died in my throat when I saw the delivery rooms…

As soon as we reached the reception area of the Kensington, we were whisked off to a room that probably wouldn't have looked too out of place in a five star London hotel (except for all the medical equipment, obviously. Unless the occupant had some sort of kink abou- No. I've gone off on a tangent…). There was a large bed with pristine sheets, beautiful art on the walls and a huge window with views right across central London. Oh, and a plasma TV. And an en-suite bathroom with a bathtub big enough for at least three of me. Three heavily pregnant versions of me. Basically, the absolute best room you could possibly hope to give birth in.

We were left alone for long enough for me to change into a comfy nightshirt and settle myself on the bed to prepare for the next contraction when a middle aged woman and two women and one man in their early twenties, all wearing scrubs, walked into the room.

'Hello dear, I'm Gina' said the older woman, 'and I'll be your main midwife, probably right up until the baby comes if the information Blaine gave to us on the phone was right. We have some student midwives in with us today, and these three are shadowing me on my shift. Are you comfortable with them being here?'

I smiled at the three students, who all looked very nervous (except the tall brunette girl who was just staring at Kurt and Blaine with awe and disbelief).

'Of course, that's fine.' I gestured to myself as I talked to the students, 'I'm Kim, this is Kurt, Blaine and Evie.'

The staring girl inhaled sharply and began to cough uncontrollably, and Blaine crossed the room to pat her on the back. As the coughs died down, she seemed to notice Blaine and turned bright red before blurting out

'Oh my god you really are Blaine Anderson.'

As soon as the words were spoken, she clapped her hand over her mouth. The poor girl looked like she wanted to melt into the floor then and there, but Blaine just grinned and squeezed her shoulder.

'Blaine Hummel-Anderson, actually. And don't be so embarrassed, this doesn't even compare to when Kim met us.' he turned to Kurt, 'What did she do, darling, I can't quite remember…'

'Oh ha ha ha, yes, make fun of the woman who is about to give birth to your child why don't you?' I replied, before turning to the girl, 'I fainted, by the way. In a park.'

She seemed to relax then, and Blaine went over to rejoin Kurt and Evie on the sofa near the bed.

Contractions are mightily inconvenient things, and it cut off my question to Gina about the student's names with its painful grip. Thankfully, Gina is one on-the-ball lady and placed a gas and air tube into my hand with instructions to breathe it slowly, and Evie manhandled me into a sitting position to do so whilst she sat behind me and rubbed my back.

After a minute or so, the pain passed and I flopped down onto the pillows. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kurt and Blaine share a tentative smile, and Gina bustled over to me on the bed.

'Right, may as well get this done now I know that I've got the time' she started, 'I need to examine you, sweetheart.'

I groaned and buried my face in the plushness of the pillow.

'Oh _fine_, get it over with…'

With strict instructions from me to my band of birthing partners to stay up near my head at all costs, Gina performed a thankfully quick internal examination.

'Well, you've progressed very nicely' she began, 'you're at seven centimetres already!'

I sighed in relief and let the tears in my eyes from squeezing them together too tightly fall down into my hair, before someone wiped them away with a tissue.

'It doesn't surprise me, to be honest' she continued, 'Blaine did say that you began early labour yesterday evening, even if you didn't know it. I would imagine that this portion of established labour is going to go quite quickly now, so try and get some rest, okay?'

'When you say quickly, what do you mean?' asked Kurt as he stroked through my hair.

'I'd say a few hours, probably around three-ish. We can give you some pain relief if you'd like, Kim?'

I nodded vehemently when another contraction began to kick in, and Gina laughed.

'I can give you a medication injection, or I could contact the anaesthetist to give you an epidural?'

'No, no epidural' I replied.

I saw Kurt, Blaine and Evie exchange worried looks.

'I don't want an epidural, but one of those injections would be _really_ good right about now.'

Gina nodded, and went over to the students, before coming back.

'Okay, we're going to give you a diamorphine injection, it should help. I'm also going to have a go at breaking your waters, if that's alright?'

Although I didn't notice that he'd left, I certainly noticed when the male student midwife came back in carrying a tray containing a vial, a needle and _ohdeargod_ a little hook all wrapped in sterile packets.

I've never had a problem with needles or injections, and I was simply too relieved to get some pain relief to worry about receiving the diamorphine.

'Right' said Gina after finishing the injection, 'that'll kick in soon and last around three hours. We may give you another top up later, if you're still not fully dilated by then. But now I'm going to try and break your waters.'

Blaine and Kurt both gasped a little when Gina retrieved the hook, and Evie had enough sense to slap them around the head when it made me start to panic. Truthfully, it wasn't that scary-looking at all, but they're men and I was tired, so it was understandable that we'd be a little intimidated. Thank god for my equally intimidating best friend.

'Ignore those idiots Kim, it's fine. It's tiny, honestly, it's not going to hurt.'

It didn't, thank god, and a few minutes later my waters had gone and Gina had left to go and fill out some paperwork or something, leaving us lot in the room with the three students.

* * *

><p>Now, diamorphine is simultaneously wonderful and evil in fairly equal quantities. Wonderful because it made the contractions a <em>lot<em> more bearable, and evil because, well, to put it bluntly… I got kind of high.

Because Gina said that I needed rest, my birthing partners relaxed their fretting over me a little. Kurt and Blaine curled up on the sofa together, talking and laughing and only coming over when I needed them, and Evie was in the chair next to me alternately making some notes for work and fussing over me. It didn't last long though, because once the drugs kicked in, I became a _spectacular_ source of entertainment.

'Kurt!' I hissed, 'Psst, Kurt!'

He looked up from his spot in Blaine's arms.

'Uhh yeh Kim?'

'Kurt, there's a pain in my belly and it won't stop. Come and tell it to stop.'

Kurt threw me a puzzled look before pushing himself off of the sofa and coming over.

'Kim, what do you mean? Are you having a contraction?'

'It hurts Kurt. It's like… Um… Like there's a tiny person inside me and they're _squeezing_ Kurt. _SQUEEZING_!'

He stifled a giggle into the back of his hand before stroking my hair and glancing at Evie on my other side.

'You're having a contraction Kim. Are you alright? Do you want some gas and air?'

I shook my head and nuzzled it into Kurt's palm.

'You're stroking my hair.'

'Yes' he replied with a smile, 'yes I am.'

'Makes me feel like a cat. I think I'd like to be a cat.'

Nobody bothered to disguise their chuckles at that, and Evie, sensing a brilliant reply, piped up.

'Why would you like to be a cat, Kim?'

I pondered over my answer for a few seconds.

'Because cats have it easy. They just lounge about in the sun and lick their fur and stuff, don't they?'

'I guess they do' she replied, holding back another laugh.

I fell back into silence and everyone went back to their previous positions.

After another contraction had been and gone (a more painful one, might I add), I decided to try the speaking thing again, and this time directed it at the quiet students sitting in the corner with my notes and various notepads and pens.

'Hey!'

They all looked up in alarm before the tall brunette girl stood up and came over.

'Are you alright, Dr Miller?'

I scoffed loudly.

'Don't call me Dr Miller' I said, patting her clumsily on the arm, 'that's my father. Wait… No, my father isn't a doctor. But I'm not a doctor either. My boyfriend is a doctor though!'

'That's nice', she answered distractedly.

'Hmm, he is nice. And tall… You're tall for a girl.'

'I know' she rearranged the blankets around my feet, 'would you like anything else?'

'Yes! Yes, I would like to know your names. I don't know your names…'

She sighed in obvious relief that it hadn't been a more embarrassing enquiry, and pointed to herself.

'Well, I'm Chrissie' she pointed to the short redhead girl, 'that's Julia, and that', she gestured to the man, 'is Rob.'

'Hi!' I beamed, 'I'm Kim! And that's Evie, she's my bestest friend. And that's Kurt and Blaine but _you_' I poked Chrissie in the arm, 'know that because you think they're _sexy_.'

Chrissie spluttered whilst Kurt and Blaine turned a bright tomato red and the rest of the room snorted.

'Don't worry' I whispered loudly, 'they _are_ sexy. I've seen them naked.'

'WHAT!' shouted Kurt and Blaine at the same time.

'It was just after we moved in. Don't worry, I ran out as soon as I could. You didn't notice me because Blaine was too busy suc-'

Evie clapped a hand over my mouth quickly.

'OK-_AY_! I think that's enough talking for now, Kimmy…'

'Fine' I said in a disgruntled tone, 'but don't think you're getting the details later.'

Evie flopped back down into the chair before Gina re-entered the room. After assessing everyone's expressions, she raised an eyebrow.

'What did I miss?'

* * *

><p>'Okay!' said Gina three and a half hours later, pulling back from the end of the bed and removing her gloves, 'you're at ten centimetres!'<p>

I sighed in relief and looked up to see Kurt and Blaine beaming down at me.

'This is really about to happen, isn't it?' Kurt whispered, 'we're really about to become parents…'

'If I have anything to say about it, then yes. I want this baby out of me as soon as possible.' I replied.

Gina laughed and made a few notes on my clipboard.

'It will be, don't worry. We'll leave it for twenty minutes to let the baby's head drop more, and then you can get to the pushing.'

I nodded and reached for the gas and air as I felt another contraction coming on. The pain relief had faded as expected (probably for the better to be honest) and now I was relying on nitrous oxide, three very attentive birth partners and sheer force of will to get through the pain.

* * *

><p>Countless swear words and twenty minutes later Gina pulled on another pair of latex gloves and sat at the end of the bed.<p>

'It's time', she said with a smile.

The various people in the room helped me get into a 'comfortable' position, and finally I was sitting propped up against the many fluffy pillows with my legs apart and people swarming around the room collecting various things that may be needed during the birth.

Evie was perched on the bed next to me, with one arm around my shoulders and her other hand in mine, and Kurt and Blaine were doing the same on my other side. There was a sense of excitement in the air, but it was hard to concentrate on that when all I could think about was the fact that I was about to push a tiny human out of my vagina…

'Okay Kim, with the next contraction, I want you to tuck your chin into your chest and give the biggest push that you can, okay?'

Turns out that I didn't have much time to think about what I was about to do in the end, because only a few seconds later a contraction came. Without thinking about it, I did as Gina instructed and tucked my chin down, before pushing as hard as I physically could.

'_Fuck_' I breathed as the pain ripped through my lower body, '_fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck_'

'Remember to breathe when you need to Kim' said Gina calmly.

I managed to force out 'I _am_ breathing' through gritted teeth before the contraction ended and my head flopped backwards.

'That really shitting hurts'

Gina laughed breathlessly from her position in between my calves.

'Yes, it really really does. But that was a bloody good push, Kim. Just rest and breathe before the next one.'

I nodded and tucked my head into Blaine's arm, taking deep breaths to try and calm myself.

'You're doing so well Kim', murmured Blaine into my ear, 'like, really well.'

I smiled at him and kissed the bit of everyone's arm that I could reach when another contraction started and I began to push again.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later and I was exhausted. It seems so easy on TV. It definitely doesn't seem like it takes half an hour. Gina assured me that some of the time it can take a long time to push the baby down through the birth canal. It is a tricky journey after all, she said. But half an hour with very little progress like me? That's not completely normal.<p>

'Kim?' she asked me after another failed push, 'I'm going to call Dr Farmer now. It seems like the baby isn't making as much progress as we'd like, and she's beginning to get distressed. It's probably the case that you need a forceps delivery.'

I couldn't hold in a tired sounding whimper and I looked up at the three people with me. Evie was looking down at me with a slightly forced smile, but Kurt and Blaine's faces were both made of stone, locked into worried expressions, and their eyes threatening to fill with tears.

Gina patted my leg sympathetically before standing and calling someone on the phone by the door. Chrissie made her way to the bed when yet another contraction hit me.

'Don't push anymore' she said, 'you'll just get even more tired. We'll wait for the doctor now before we do anything more.'

I nodded minutely in acknowledgment and grabbed for the gas and air tube. The fun banter of earlier in the day seemed a distant memory as I fought against the pain of the contraction and my own frightened thoughts.

After a few moments, Dr Farmer strode in the door wearing scrubs, looking vastly different to the man I'd grown to know wearing freshly pressed shirts and ties courtesy of Mrs Farmer.

'Now, Kim, Gina here tells me that this baby may be in a spot of bother?'

'Yes' I said in a choked voice.

'Don't worry my dear, we'll get this sorted. One in eight women has to have an assisted delivery, won't harm the baby in any way at all, so don't fret. This baby just wants to have a suitably dramatic entrance into the world, I'm sure. Needs to keep up with her fathers somehow, doesn't she?'

We all laughed gratefully at the comforting nature of the obstetrician, and my worries eased substantially at the fact that he didn't seem to be concerned in the slightest. After a few minutes of sorting through equipment and signing documents, we were all in much better moods. Evie always did say that Dr Farmer reminded her of Santa Claus, and I could finally see what she meant. The man was just as much a miracle worker as Saint Nick himself.

'Now, I'll talk you through it. First we will give you a local anaesthetic into the birth canal. Won't get rid of the pain entirely like an epidural would I'm afraid, but we don't have time to give you one of those and it is easier to push without one.

Then we'll give you an episiotomy, and I'll attach the forceps to the baby's head. Then with each contraction, you push and I pull and voila, hello baby Hummel-Anderson, alright?'

'Um…'

'Yes Blaine?'

'Yeh, what's an episiotomy?'

Dr Farmer chuckled.

'We have to make a cut in the back of the vagina to enable us to get the forceps in. We'll stitch it up under local anaesthetic after the placenta is out.'

Blaine's face turned a beautiful shade of green, and Kurt patted him on the arm.

'This is why men don't have babies' replied Dr Farmer.

After he left to go scrub up properly, I grabbed Blaine's hand and pulled him close to my head.

'I swear to god Blaine Hummel-Anderson, if this permanently wrecks my vagina you are sending a handwritten letter of apology to David, got it?'

He merely gulped in response before stepping back so that Chrissie and Rob could cover my legs with sterile sheets.

'Okay' said Gina after all the preparation had been completed and I was successfully anaesthetised, 'against my better judgment I'm going to let all three of you stay in the room, but you stay up near her head okay? I know it'd be nice to see your baby be born, but from now on the lower half of Kim's body is a sterile zone, and you need to stay out of it. I'm sorry.'

'Doesn't matter, I don't think Blaine was particularly interested in looking down there anyway' answered Kurt jokily, and was rewarded with a playful scowl from his husband.

'Okay then, I think we're ready.'

* * *

><p>Minutes later and the room was swarming with people. As well as Dr Farmer, Gina, the three student midwives, me, Evie, Kurt and Blaine, there was also an anaesthetist, two medical students and a neonatal team. Basically, a lot of people, most of whom were there to look at my nether regions. Thank god I got a wax at that spa day Evie and I went on.<p>

'Righty-ho Kim, I'm going to attach the forceps now' said Dr Farmer from in between my legs (which were now in stirrups, how dignified…).

There was a painful stretch and I could feel the cool metal of the forceps locking around the baby's head. It was the strangest feeling ever. Well, I know now it was, but it didn't register at that exact moment because of the bloody _pain_.

'All done. With the next contraction, tuck your chin into your chest and push as hard as you can, and I'll pull as much as I can, and we'll see how this goes, alright?'

I nodded sharply and looked up and Kurt, Blaine and Evie. All of them were smiling huge, encouraging smiles and it gave me a renewed sense of determination. By hell or high water, this baby was coming out _now_.

And it was indeed coming out _now_, because no sooner had I had the thought than a contraction arrived and all of a sudden the room was in chaos. Everyone was telling me to _breathe_, and _push_, just _harder_. Everyone was milling around and I couldn't make heads or tails of anything, so I did what my body was telling me to do and pushed like I didn't know I could. Out of the haze of my pain and concentration I heard Dr Farmer's voice drifting towards me, telling me_ 'you're doing good Kim'_ and _'the baby's coming, I can see her head' _and_ 'oh she's definitely got hair, lots of it in fact, looks black and curly'_ and then there was a groan from Blaine and then…

Relief. Emptiness. And the sound of a baby crying...

I didn't even realise that I'd closed my eyes, but I opened them to find Kurt and Blaine sobbing fat tears of joy, and Evie clutching my hand with a huge smile on her face, and a nurse carrying a little wrinkly thing towards us and _ohmygod_ she was there, breathing the same air as her fathers for the first time, and she was _perfect_.

'We recommend skin-to-skin contact in the first few minutes, which one of you would like to?' asked the nurse, addressing Kurt and Blaine.

'Both of us' answered Blaine, pulling his shirt off as instructed with Kurt following suit. I heard an appreciative sigh flow around the room, and noticed that all the women (and the anaesthetist) were gazing at their bare chests. I breathed out an _'I told you they were sexy'_ and the nurse chuckled before placing the snuffling little baby into Kurt's waiting arms. As soon as she was there, she opened her eyes and gazed up at the men above her, unable yet to fully understand the love they had for her, but still seeming to know that she was right where she belonged.

As Kurt and Blaine held their little girl between them and unabashedly cried into each other's shoulders, it registered that I was still on a table with my legs spread and my vagina in full view of multiple people.

'Um' I began with a smile, 'can someone do something about this please? I generally don't put out so much until you've bought me dinner first …'

* * *

><p>After I was sufficiently stitched and cleaned and the many people that had been in there for the birth had left the room, I finally had a chance to hold my biological daughter. After she'd been weighed (8lbs 3oz) and measured (22 inches), the nurse had helped Kurt and Blaine put a nappy on her, wrapped her in a soft pink blanket and handed her to them, and they hadn't let go since. They'd held her through phone calls to friends and family, signing paperwork and holding my hand as the anaesthetic wore off and I winced through receiving my stitches. I couldn't blame them of course. After all that it'd taken to get her here, I wasn't surprised that they never wanted to let her go.<p>

But, they gave her to me. They placed the little bundle in my arms and taken pictures and I'd marvelled at her tiny fingers and perfect miniature fingernails and her beautiful _everything_. I've always thought that newborn babies are kind of ugly, but she wasn't. She was remarkable, and in more than one way.

'You know' I began as I looked down at her sleeping face, 'she looks like you, Kurt.'

I wasn't wrong. Through some genetic _miracle_, the baby before me had inherited every similarity that I shared with Kurt, from our shared skin and eye colour (very very pale, and blue-grey, though his are far more captivating) to our similar jawline. Add that to her long lashes and black curls and very Blaine nose, and she looked like the biological child of the both of them.

'I know' whispered Kurt reverentially, 'it's incredible…'

'She's incredible' said Blaine, 'and so are you Kim. We're never going to be able to thank you enough.'

'Nah' I said, stroking the backs of her tiny hands, 'you don't have to thank me. I did this for me as much as you. I get to be cool Aunty Kim now.'

I smiled as I placed their child back into Blaine's arms, and they moved to the sofa, where Kurt sat across it, leaning against the arm with Blaine and the baby between his legs and his arms wrapped around both of them.

'So, have you picked out a name yet?' I asked.

'No', sighed Blaine, 'we've thought and thought and nothing has come up that's _right_.'

'We have her second name' said Kurt, 'she's going have 'Elizabeth' as that, after my mom, but a first name? We're completely stumped.'

'Hmm…'

We sat in silence for a few minutes, with the only sounds being the cute little contented sniffles coming from the baby, when my stomach grumbled loudly.

'Oh god Kim, you've not eaten for hours!' exclaimed Kurt, 'do you want us to go and get anything for you?'

I contemplated as Kurt wriggled from behind Blaine to grab his wallet.

'You know, I could really go for a slice of Victoria sponge right now. I'm properly craving it all of a sudden.'

'Sure, I'll just pop down to that tea room thing-'

Kurt had stopped dead still with his wallet in his hands, and turned to look at Blaine. After a few seconds of silent communication, they both grinned.

'Oh god, what have I missed this time?'

'Her name' Kurt replied.

'What? When?'

'Just now' he said, 'Victoria. That's her name.'

I raised an eyebrow.

'Are you sure? I mean, it's really old fashioned. Victoria Elizabeth?'

Kurt put his wallet back on the table and kneeled on the floor next to his husband to look at their daughter.

'Yes. That's her name. I mean, we'll shorten it to Tori, I'm sure, but… It's perfect.'

'And besides' Blaine smiled, 'we kind of started off this adventure with a Victoria, didn't we?'

I wracked my brain for a few seconds before remembering what I was carrying in the park that fateful day.

'You're naming your daughter after a cake?'

'Yep' nodded Kurt, 'Victoria Elizabeth Hummel-Anderson. Welcome to the world.'

* * *

><p>So. I'm on my own now. Kurt and Blaine have taken Tori for her postnatal work up with Dr Farmer, and Evie has gone back to our house that we haven't lived in in months to clean up a bit and start moving things in so that we can go straight back there once my week in hospital is over. I'm a bit sore and moving is hard, but all things considered, I'm doing well. I've got my plasma TV and a slice of the cake for which my friends child was just named, and I'm happy.<p>

It's been a _long_ road, and I'm glad it's over. I'm glad that my body is mine again, and I can drink caffeine and the occasional glass of wine. I'm glad that things can progress in mine and David's relationship. I'm glad that this little girl is _finally_ where she's meant to be, and that Kurt and Blaine finally have the family they were always meant to have.

So I'm glad it's over. But I'll never regret that it happened in the first place.

Because I'm just a giving person, remember?

And this time, I gave the greatest gift of all.

* * *

><p><strong>And it's done. See you soon for the sequels!<strong>


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